Mental Disorders Triple the Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke in Young Adults

At least one mental disorder was present in 856,927 (13.1%) of the subjects. Nearly half (47.9%) of those with mental disorders had anxiety, more than one in five (21.2%) had depression, and one in five (20.0%) experienced sleeplessness. Moreover, a quarter (27.9%) of those with mental health issues had somatoform disorder, while 2.7% had drug use disorder, 1.3% had bipolar disorder, 0.9% had schizophrenia, 0.9% had an eating disorder, 0.7% had a personality disorder, and 0.4% had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Participants were monitored for new-onset myocardial infarction and stroke until December 2018. There were 16,133 myocardial infarctions and 10,509 strokes with a median follow-up of 7.6 years.2 The authors examined the relationship between mental disorders and cardiovascular outcomes after controlling for factors such as age, gender, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, and income.

Participants who had any mental disorder had a 58% higher risk of myocardial infarction and a 42% higher risk of stroke than those who did not have any mental disorder. All mental disorders studied increased the risk of myocardial infarction, with magnitudes ranging from 1.49 to 3.13-fold. Looking at each condition separately, the risk of myocardial infarction was 3.13 times higher in those with PTSD, 2.61 times higher in those with schizophrenia, 2.47 times higher in those with substance use disorder, 2.40 times higher in those with bipolar disorder, 2.29 times higher in those with personality disorder, 1.97 times higher in those with eating disorders, 1.73 times higher for insomnia, 1.72 times higher for depression, 1.53 times higher for anxiety, and 1.49 times higher in those with eating disorders.

Except for PTSD and eating disorders, all mental health conditions increased the risk of stroke, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.25 to 3.06. Personality disorder had a hazard ratio of 3.06, schizophrenia had a ratio of 2.95, bipolar disorder had a ratio of 2.64, substance use disorder had a ratio of 2.44, depression had a ratio of 1.60, insomnia had a ratio of 1.45, anxiety had a ratio of 1.38, and somatoform disorder had a ratio of 1.25.

Mental Health, Age, and Gender as Key Factors in Cardiovascular Risk

The scientists also looked at the connections in terms of age and gender. Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and personality disorder were linked to an increased risk of myocardial infarction among participants in their twenties compared to those in their thirties. Furthermore, depression and insomnia were connected to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke in women than in males.

Study author Dr. Chan Soon Park of Seoul National University Hospital, Republic of Korea, said: “Patients with mental health problems are known to have a shorter life expectancy than the general population, with the majority of deaths due to physical illnesses. Our study shows that substantial numbers of young adults have at least one mental health problem, which may predispose them to heart attack and stroke. Future research should examine the cardiovascular benefits of managing psychological problems and monitoring heart health in this vulnerable group.”

References:

1. Increased cardiovascular events in young patients with mental disorders: a nationwide cohort study – (https:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37156491/)