SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1603785
This article is part of the Research TopicHypertension and Cardiorenal Syndrome and Their Relationship with Aging: Friends and FoesView all 5 articles
The Impact of Depression on Mortality Among Elderly Patients with Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- Zhongjiang People's Hospital, Zhongjiang, China
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Background: Depression and hypertension frequently coexist in the elderly and may jointly contribute to increased mortality and cardiovascular risk. However, the extent to which depression independently affects these outcomes remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the association between depression and all-cause mortality in elderly patients with hypertension.We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science (2010-2024) for relevant cohort studies and randomized controlled trials.Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using a random-effects model. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251019904).Results: Thirteen studies including 483,560 participants showed that depression was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.23-1.41). The association was stronger among females (HR = 1.57) and in studies with short-term follow-up (<10 years, HR = 1.40). The findings were consistent across different depression assessment tools.Depression is independently associated with higher all-cause mortality in elderly hypertensive patients. Routine screening and management of depression-particularly among older women-may improve long-term outcomes.
Keywords: Depression, Hypertension, elderly patients, All-cause mortality, cardiovascular risk, Meta-analysis, Systematic review, Mental health screening
Received: 01 Apr 2025; Accepted: 11 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fang, Huang, Zhang, Shi and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ze Fang, Zhongjiang People's Hospital, Zhongjiang, China
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