New Research Suggests That Mental Health Conditions Such As Depression And Anxiety Might Raise The Risk Of Heart Disease Among Young And Middle-Aged Women

This effect was particularly pronounced in women under 50 with depression or anxiety. They were estimated to be almost twice as likely to develop cardiovascular risk factors than any other group studied.

In terms of absolute risk, young women typically exhibited the lowest rates of cardiovascular risk factors across all groups – aligning with expectations based on previous research and current scientific knowledge about estrogen’s protective role in pre-menopausal women.

Yet, anxiety and depression were found to significantly increase the relative risk of developing these conditions in young women more so than in other demographics.

“Once a young woman has depression or anxiety, her absolute risk is comparable to a young male. There is a sort of catch-up phenomenon where depression and anxiety increase the risk that would otherwise be very low,” said Dr. Civieri.

To pinpoint the underlying factors of this link, the team looked into the metabolic processes in the brain’s stress-related areas in a subset of participants who received brain imaging. The findings indicate that young women dealing with depression or anxiety exhibit significantly heightened activity in neural regions associated with stress.

“The question is: Why are anxiety and depression associated with heightened gains in risk among younger females? This is something we are continuing to study,” Dr. Civieri stated.

While depression and anxiety are distinct conditions, the research team opted to analyze them collectively due to their common link to an increased risk of heart disease and overlapping neurobiological pathways. This means they are believed to affect health through similar mechanisms.

Currently, it’s unclear whether treatments for mental health issues, like antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy, could lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

However, Dr. Civieri points out that once a patient is diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, there are proven treatments available, such as statins and medications to lower blood pressure, that can effectively decrease the likelihood of a severe heart-related incident.

To learn more about the study’s findings, which will soon be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session, visit the link here.