More than 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, an all-consuming condition that often results in depression, anxiety and other mental and physical health issues.
Now, doctors are warning that adults affected by chronic pain are also more likely to develop high blood pressure, and that depression resulting from chronic pain may also be a contributing factor.
“The more widespread their pain, the higher their risk of developing high blood pressure,” the University of Glasgow’s Dr. Jill Pell explained in a statement following an analysis of health data from more than 200,000 British adults. “This suggests that early detection and treatment of depression, among people with pain, may help to reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure.”
But depression wasn’t the only possible cause. Chronic inflammation – that may or may not be related to the pain – also played a role, the doctors said.
While inflammation that can cause swelling or tenderness is a normal reaction that protects the body from illness or injury, chronic inflammation occurs when the body continues reacting even when there’s no invading bacteria or wound and can be harmful.
Chronic inflammation has been shown to lead to cancer, dementia and other chronic diseases.
Pell noted that while inflammation and depression are both known to raise the risk of developing high blood pressure, no prior studies looked at the extent to which the link between pain and high blood pressure is driven by inflammation and depression.
Her team’s findings build on decades of previous research showing ties between chronic pain, depression, high blood pressure and inflammation. A lack of dopamine, which is known as the “feel-good” hormone, can increase blood pressure, researchers in Washington, D.C., found in 2011.
A 2025 Johns Hopkins Medicine review of more than 375 studies found that 40 percent of adults with chronic pain experienced “clinically significant depression and anxiety,” and studies dating back to 2001 have identified a relationship between inflammation and high blood pressure.
Around half of American adults - 120 million people – have high blood pressure, which is a common risk factor in heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. Heart disease is the nation’s top killer, resulting in more than 910,000 deaths each year.
To lower the risk of both high blood pressure and inflammation, people should sleep for at least seven hours a night, eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. That can include a brisk walk or light jog.
Staying active is one strong recommendation. For the 16 million Americans who live with chronic back pain, walking 100 minutes over the course of a day has been proven to help.
