Trait anger, anger expression, and ambulatory blood pressure: A meta-analytic review

A meta-analysis of 15 studies was conducted to investigate the relationship between trait anger and ambulatory blood pressure. Overall, the experience of anger was significantly and positively associated with systolic blood pressure (r₊ = 0.049), but not reliably associated with diastolic blood pressure (r₊ = 0.028). After removing an outlier, the expression of anger was found to have a reliable inverse relationship with diastolic blood pressure (r₊ = -0.072). No reliable relationship between expression of anger and systolic blood pressure (r₊ = -0.041) was found. These results continue to support the modest role of self-reported trait anger and anger expression in blood pressure levels. Several suggestions for future research are discussed, including increasing the focus on the complexity and synergism of these effects.