Chronic pain might quietly push people toward developing high blood pressure—and the more widespread the pain, the greater the danger. A massive analysis of over 200,000 adults uncovered strong links between long-lasting pain, depression, inflammation, and rising hypertension risk.
Research Highlights
- Chronic pain appears to play a meaningful role in raising the risk of developing high blood pressure.
- How long the pain lasts and where it occurs both influence that risk, and part of the connection is explained by depression and inflammation.
- Researchers say the results underscore how important effective pain management can be for preventing and controlling high blood pressure, a major driver of cardiovascular disease and death.
Chronic Pain Linked to Rising Blood Pressure Risk
Chronic pain in adults may raise the likelihood of developing high blood pressure, and factors such as where the pain is located, how widespread it is, and whether a person also has depression appear to play important roles. These findings come from new research published today (November 17) in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.
An evaluation of health information from more than 200,000 adults in the U.S. showed that individuals who experienced chronic pain throughout their bodies had a higher chance of developing high blood pressure compared to those reporting no pain, short-term discomfort, or pain limited to one region.
“The more widespread their pain, the higher their risk of developing high blood pressure,” said lead study author Jill Pell, M.D., C.B.E., the Henry Mechan Professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. “Part of the explanation for this finding was that having chronic pain made people more likely to have depression, and then having depression made people more likely to develop high blood pressure. This suggests that early detection and treatment of depression, among people with pain, may help to reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure.”
When providing care for people with pain, health care workers need to be aware that they are at higher risk of developing high blood pressure, either directly or via depression. Recognizing pain could help detect and treat these additional conditions early.
Jill Pell
Understanding High Blood Pressure and Its Dangers
High blood pressure and hypertension occur when blood presses too strongly against vessel walls, increasing the chance of heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure, including stage one or stage two hypertension (blood pressure readings from 130/80 mm Hg to 140/90 mm Hg or higher), affects nearly half of adults in the U.S. It is also the leading cause of death nationally and worldwide, according to the 2025 joint American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guideline endorsed by 11 other organizations.
Earlier studies show that chronic musculoskeletal pain – pain in the hip, knee, back or neck/shoulder that lasts for at least three months – is the most common form of long-term pain in the general population. The new study examined how the presence, type, and distribution of pain across the body relate to later high blood pressure.
Inflammation and depression are already recognized as contributing factors for high blood pressure; however, Pell noted that no previous research had evaluated how much these elements might explain the connection between long-lasting pain and future hypertension.
How Researchers Collected and Measured Pain Data
Participants completed a baseline questionnaire describing whether they had experienced pain in the previous month that interfered with daily activities. They identified whether the pain occurred in the head, face, neck/shoulder, back, stomach/abdomen, hip, knee or across the entire body. Those reporting pain also indicated whether symptoms had persisted for more than three months.
Depression was assessed through a questionnaire asking about depressed mood, disinterest, restlessness or lethargy during the previous two weeks. Inflammation was measured using blood tests for C-reactive protein (CRP).
Key Findings After Long-Term Follow-Up
After an average follow-up period of 13.5 years, the results showed:
- Nearly 10% of all participants developed high blood pressure.
- Compared to people without pain, those with chronic widespread pain faced the greatest increase in risk (75% higher), while short-term pain was associated with a 10% higher risk and chronic pain in a single location was tied to a 20% higher risk.
- When looking at pain locations, chronic widespread pain was linked to a 74% higher risk of high blood pressure; chronic abdominal pain to a 43% higher risk; chronic headaches to a 22% higher risk; chronic neck/shoulder pain to a 19% higher risk; chronic hip pain to a 17% higher risk; and chronic back pain to a 16% higher risk.
- Depression (11.3% of participants) and inflammation (0.4% of participants) explained 11.7% of the connection between chronic pain and high blood pressure.
“When providing care for people with pain, health care workers need to be aware that they are at higher risk of developing high blood pressure, either directly or via depression. Recognizing pain could help detect and treat these additional conditions early,” Pell said.
