Mental health may predict heart health in younger women, finds study

Younger women are generally thought to have a low risk of heart disease, but new research urges clinicians to revisit that assumption, especially for women who suffer from certain mental health conditions and reported that younger women with anxiety or depression were nearly twice as likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes over a 10-year period compared with women who did not have these mental health conditions, putting them nearly on par with men of the same age in terms of heart disease risk.

“We often feel that young women are the ‘safe group’ with regards to cardiovascular disease because the incidence of cardiovascular disease is quite low due to the protective effects of estrogen in this group. But this study suggests that if a younger woman has depression or anxiety, we should start screening for cardiovascular risk factors to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease.” said Giovanni Civieri, MD, cardiologist, research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and the study’s lead author.

In the study, researchers analyzed health records of 71,214 people participating in the Mass General Brigham Biobank. People who had heart disease or who were diagnosed with anxiety or depression after the study began were excluded. They also examined the metabolic activity of stress-related brain regions in a subset of participants who had undergone brain scans.

The results revealed that during a 10-year follow-up, 38% of participants developed high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. Those with pre-existing anxiety or depression were 55% more likely to develop these risk factors. Women under 50 with anxiety or depression were nearly twice as likely to develop cardiovascular risk factors. Despite young women typically having lower risk, anxiety and depression increased their relative risk significantly, possibly due to heightened stress-related neural activity.

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

Reference: “Anxiety and Depression Increase Cardiovascular Disease Risk by Accelerating the Development of Risk Factors: Effects of Age and Sex; American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session