Key result
Psychological distress and negative life events are linked to increased incident CVD risk, especially in younger adults.
Why the study?
The contemporary increase in psychological distress is a public health concern, and its associations with cardiovascular disease need investigation.
Do negative emotional states and negative life events increase the risk of incident cardiovascular disease and mortality in a general population?
Cohort (n=3,614)
Do negative emotional states and negative life events increase the risk of incident cardiovascular disease and mortality in a general population?
Psychological distress and negative life events are associated with an increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease, highlighting the need for public health efforts targeting psychological health, especially in younger adults.
Supports psychological screening in young adults for CVD risk; leaves open causality and whether interventions reduce events.
OBJECTIVE: The contemporary increase in psychological distress observed in many countries is, by itself, a public health issue of great concern. The present study aims to investigate associations between self-reported negative emotional states and negative life events, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: Prospective cohort study based on the Swedish INTERGENE cohort comprising 3614 men and women, aged 25 to 75. Baseline examinations during 2001-2004 included self-rating depression and anxiety scales, life stress, as well as a wide range of physiological and behavioral parameters, which allowed for relevant adjustments. Cox proportion hazard was used to predict incident CVD, CVD mortality as well as all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The results showed a dose-response relationship between depressiveness, anxiety and negative life events on the one hand, and increased risk of CVD. Most of these associations persisted in the fully adjusted models. Furthermore, the youngest age group (25-44 years) generally showed the highest prevalence of psychosocial distress, and also had the highest risks of incident CVD with regard to depression and anxiety. CONCLUSION: The associations between psychological distress and later life cardiovascular disease calls for enhanced public health efforts aiming at ameliorating psychological health, not least in younger age groups.
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Dag et al. (2019) conducted a cohort in Cardiovascular disease (n=3,614). Negative emotional states and negative life events was evaluated on Incident CVD, CVD mortality, and all-cause mortality. Self-reported depression, anxiety, and negative life events were associated with a dose-response increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease, particularly in adults aged 25-44 years.
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