New Research Finds That Adults In Their Twenties And Thirties With Mental Disorders Including Anxiety, Depression, Or Insomnia Are At An Increased Risk Of Stroke And Heart Attack

Nearly 29% of the participants also had somatoform disorder; meanwhile, substance use disorder affected 2.7%, and 1.3% had bipolar disorder.

The researchers followed the participants up until December 2018 to track newly onset strokes and myocardial infarctions.

And after 7.6 years– the median follow-up period– it was found that 10,509 strokes and 16,133 myocardial infarctions had occurred.

Afterward, the team was able to examine the link between cardiovascular outcomes and mental health disorders– adjusting for potentially-influencing factors such as gender, age, diabetes, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, high cholesterol, alcohol use, smoking, income, and physical activity.

It was determined that individuals with any mental disorder actually had a 58% higher risk of myocardial infarction and a 42% higher risk of stroke as opposed to individuals with no mental disorders.

The researchers also analyzed risk relationships for each mental condition. The risk of myocardial infarction was greatest among participants with PTSD at 3.13 times higher.

Thereafter, myocardial infarction risk was 2.61 times high for those with schizophrenia, 2.47 times higher for individuals with substance abuse disorder, and 2.4 times higher for individuals with bipolar disorder.

Finally, the myocardial infarction risks were 2.29 times higher and 1.97 times higher for those with personality disorders and eating disorders, respectively. At the same time, those with insomnia witnessed a 1.73 times higher risk, and those with depression had a risk 1.72 times greater.

Stroke risk was also elevated for all mental health disorders, with the exception of eating disorders and PTSD.

Individuals with personality disorders had a 3.06 times higher risk of stroke; meanwhile, those with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder had a 2.95 and 2.64 times higher risk, respectively.

Individuals with substance abuse disorder also had a 2.44 times higher risk of stroke. Finally, those with depression, insomnia, and anxiety had 1.60, 1.45, and 1.38 times higher risks, respectively.