The Relationship of Biological and Psychological Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disorders in a Large-scale National Representative Community Survey

A large-scale national representative community survey of 11,122 persons aged more than 35 years included the investigation of the coincidence of depressive symptoms, vital exhaustion, cardiovascular disorders, stroke, and myocardial infarction. A total of 20.3% of the survey participants reported having experienced a cardiovascular disorder (CVD). Of the subjects reporting a CVD, 52.1% exhibited depressive symptoms (22.0% subthreshold depressive symptoms, 30.1% clinical depression), and 69.7% exhibited vital exhaustion. The authors investigated 3 cardiovascular subgroups: (1) subjects having experienced a myocardial infarction (MI), (2) subjects having experienced stroke, and (3) subjects with a CVD but no experience of either an MI or a stroke. The frequency and severity of depressive symptoms did not differ significantly in the 3 subgroups. CVD subjects with no MI or stroke had almost as high frequencies of depressive symptoms and vital exhaustion as patients who experienced stroke or MI. The strength of relationships between these psychological variables and CVDs do not differ significantly from the relationships between hypertension or diabetes and CVDs. Depressive symptoms and increased vital exhaustion have exceptionally high comorbidity with CVDs. The authors detected the same high comorbidity among patients with a milder CVD and without stroke or MI. The assessment and management of depressive symptoms and vital exhaustion should be routine procedure in clinical cardiology.