The Association between Psychological Stress and Primary Hypertension in Productive Communities Aged >40 years in Nainggolan District, Samosir Island: a Case-Control Study

Background: Hypertensive disease is still a serious problem that must be handled in everyday life because it is a disease that is a ‘silent killer’ . Psychological stress is one of the risk factors for hypertension, therefore the earlier stress detection is carried out, the sooner hypertension can be prevented. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between psychological stress and the primary hypertension in productive communities aged >40 years in the Nainggolan District area for the 2021-2022 period. Methods: This study was an observational analytical study with a case-control study design. The respondents in this study were productive communities aged >40 years in the working area of the Sirait Public Health Center with a total of 50 case groups and a control group of 50 respondents. Results: There were 50 patients in the case group with an average age of 52.24 years and 50 patients in the control group with an average age of 47.30 years. In the case group there was 30% stress and in the control group there was 24%. In the study subjects, female gender (56%) was the majority. The chi square test showed no significant association between psychological stress and the incidence of ­primary hypertension ( p value 0.652) with the magnitude of influence OR=0.737 (95% CI 0.353-1.789). Conclusion: Psychological stress may not be the main cause of primary hypertension in Nainggolan District. It is worth further exploring the risk factors for primary hypertension, such as family history and other lifestyles.