The effectiveness of emotion-regulation skills training on blood pressure control and quality of life in patients with hypertension

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a common chronic disease that is affected by several factors. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of emotion regulation skills training on blood pressure control and quality of life (QOL) in patients with hypertension. METHODS: The present study was a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test evaluations to compare the experimental group with a control group. 60 patients with high blood pressure who received medical treatment and referred to the health centers and clinics affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran were randomly selected and assigned to either the experimental group (30 patients) or the control group (30 patients). The experimental group received eight training sessions (two 2-hour sessions weekly) on emotional regulation. In each group, the blood pressure was measured before and after the intervention. Data for the QOL were collected using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). RESULTS: The findings showed that in the post-test evaluation, systolic blood pressure (SBP) of the patients in the experimental group was reduced in comparison to the control group (P ≤ 0.050). In addition, in the experimental group compared to the control group, the QOL in the patients increased after the intervention. However, the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) did not show a significant difference. CONCLUSION: Emotion regulation skills training was effective in patients with hypertension. It is suggested that the emotion regulation skills training be considered along with medical treatments.