Psychologic differences between high-, normal-, and low-renin hypertensives.

Sixty-one male subjects with mild untreated essential hypertension were classified by renin-sodium profiling as high renin (HR--13 Subjects), normal renin (NR--33 Subjects), or low renin (LR--15 Subjects). The HR subjects reported significantly more symptoms of sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoia, and psychotic thought than LR subjects on the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90). The NR subjects also reported more symptomatology than LR subjects. Similar differences between HR and LR subjects were found with the Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF).