Key result
Worsened physical and mental health over 3 years were associated with increased risk of CVD incidence (2,319 events) and all-cause death (1,571 events) over a median 8.2-year follow-up.
Why the study?
Physical and mental health are important risk factors for CVD incidence and death among postmenopausal women, but the association with changes in these factors required assessment.
Do declines in physical and mental health increase the risk of incident CVD and death in postmenopausal women?
Observational (n=48,906)
Do declines in physical and mental health increase the risk of incident CVD and death in postmenopausal women?
Declines in self-reported physical and mental health over a 3-year period are independently associated with an increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular events and mortality in postmenopausal women.
May support monitoring health declines in postmenopausal women; hypothesis-generating for interventions to reduce CVD risk.
BACKGROUND: physical and mental health are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and death among postmenopausal women. The objective of this study was to assess whether changes in physical and mental health were associated with CVD incidence and death. METHODS: in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, 48,906 women (50-79 years) had complete data at baseline on physical and mental health (assessed with Short Form-36) and key covariates. Changes in self-reported physical and mental health were calculated between baseline and year 3. Incident CVD and death between year 3 and end of the study were verified with medical records. RESULTS: over a median 8.2-year follow-up, 2,319 women developed CVD, and 1,571 women died, including 361 CVD deaths. Women with continued poor health and those with worsened health had significantly increased risk of CVD incidence, CVD-specific death and all-cause death relative to women with continued good health. Both major and minor declines in physical health were associated with an increased risk of these outcomes relative to women with no change in physical health. Only major declines in mental health were associated with poor prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: changes in physical and mental health over 3 years were independently associated with subsequent CVD events.
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Saquib et al. (2018) conducted an observational in Cardiovascular disease incidence (n=48,906). Changes in physical and mental health vs. Continued good health or no change in health was evaluated on CVD incidence, CVD-specific death, and all-cause death. Worsened physical and mental health over 3 years were associated with increased risk of CVD incidence (2,319 events) and all-cause death (1,571 events) over a median 8.2-year follow-up.
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