Even though studies support the idea of greater vulnerability to stress in the female population, there is a dearth of studies related to hypertensive patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim of verifying the difference in the prevalence of stress symptoms in a male and female sample of hypertensive patients, using Lipp's Adult Stress Symptoms Inventory and a socio-demographic questionnaire. There was no statistically significant difference in respect of the presence of stress symptoms between males (n=33) and females (n=70). However, men obtained higher scores in the resistance phase (60.6%), while women obtained higher scores in the near-exhaustion phase (41.4% versus 15.2% of men). Considering overall physical and psychological symptoms, irrespective of the predominant phase, women reported significantly higher psychological stress symptoms than men in terms of the scores in the resistance and near-exhaustion phases, as well as the scores in the exhaustion phase (p<0.05). These findings may help in the planning of stress-management strategies.
Stress; Gender; Hypertension
