Psychiatric Disorders in Young Adults Associated with Heart Attack and Stroke Risk

Important points:

• Researchers have observed that young adults with mental illness have an excessive risk of myocardial infarction and stroke.
• Metabolic profiles of psychiatric patients were not worsened.

Data from population-based studies show that young adults with any mental disorder have a 58% higher risk of MI and a 42% higher risk of stroke than those without mental illness.

An analysis of data from the National Health Insurance Service of Korea (NHIS) also revealed that depression and insomnia were associated with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke in women than in men.

“Psychological problems are common among young adults, A Strong Link to Cardiovascular Health,” Yue Kun ChoiMD, A professor of internal medicine at the Seoul National University School of Medicine in South Korea said in a press release: “Findings indicate that these individuals should receive regular physical examinations and medications, if appropriate, to prevent myocardial infarction and stroke. Although we did not discuss the risks, this does not mean that healthier habits do not improve prognosis. Must recommend.”

Choi et al. analyzed data from 6,577,727 adults aged 20 to 39 years who underwent national health examinations between 2009 and 2012 and had no baseline CVD.Researchers stratified patients according to mental disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, insomnia, anxiety disorders, PTSD, personality disorders, somatoform disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders. Researchers followed the cohort for incidence of MI or stroke until December 2018.

The survey results are European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Within the cohort, 13.1% of young adults had at least one psychiatric disorder. Among them, 47.9% had anxiety. 21.2% had depression and 20% had insomnia. Young adults with and without psychiatric disorders had similar prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and chronic kidney disease. Lifestyle habits such as smoking and heavy alcohol consumption were also similar between groups.

During a mean follow-up period of 7.6 years, 16,133 MIs and 10,509 strokes occurred.

Patients with psychiatric disorders had a significantly increased risk of MI (HR = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.51-1.64) and stroke (HR = 1.42; 95% CI, 1.35-1.5) after adjusting for covariates was shown.

The researchers found that the overall diagnosis and each psychiatric disorder were independently associated with increased CV endpoints.

Younger patients with psychiatric disorders were more likely to have depressive disorders (HR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.59-1.83), bipolar disorders (HR = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.86-3.1), schizophrenia (HR = 2.61; 95 % CI, 1.98-3.44), insomnia (HR = 1.73; 95% CI, 1.61-1.87), anxiety disorders (HR = 1.53; 95% CI, 1.45-1.62), PTSD (HR = 3.13; 95% CI, 2.02) -4.85), personality disorders (HR = 2.29; 95% CI, 1.6-3.27), somatoform disorders (HR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.39-1.6), eating disorders (HR = 1.97; 95%) CI, 1.35-2.88) ) and substance use disorders (HR = 2.47; 95% CI, 2.13-2.87).

Similarly, investigators found that depressive disorder (HR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.45-1.76), bipolar disorder (HR = 2.64; 95% CI, 1.96-3.55), schizophrenia (HR = 2.95; 95) observed an increased risk of stroke in young patients. % CI, 2.13-4.07), insomnia (HR = 1.45; 95% CI, 1.32-1.61), anxiety disorders (HR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.29-1.48), personality disorders (HR = 3.06; 95% CI , 2.08-4.5), somatoform disorders (HR = 1.25; 95% CI, 1.14-1.37) and substance use disorders (HR = 2.44; 95% CI, 2.03-2.93), but those with PTSD or eating disorders not.

“Patients with mental health problems are known to have shorter life expectancies than the general population, and the majority of deaths are due to physical illness.” Chang Soon ParkMD, A doctor at Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea said in a release: “Our research shows that a significant number of young adults have at least one mental health problem, which may predispose them to heart attacks and strokes. There is a need to explore the cardiovascular benefits of managing psychological problems and monitoring heart health in this vulnerable group.”