Quantifying links between acute myocardial infarction and depression, anxiety and schizophrenia using case register databases.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the association between depression and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a large sample using case registers, and examine whether any such link is specific to depression or might more reflect mental illness status in general.


RESULTS
Accessing the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register (PCR), patients with a diagnosis of depression were extracted and followed for up to 24 years for episodes of AMI. We used mentally healthy age- and sex-matched controls, and as comparator diagnostic groups, we studied patients with anxiety and schizophrenia. A positive association between depression and AMI was found with an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.16 (CI: 1.10-1.22). The association was not unique for the depressed individuals, but was also found for anxiety patients, where it was even stronger (IRR=1.56, CI: 1.35-1.79) than for the depressed patients. A negative association (IRR=0.77, CI: 0.65-0.91) was quantified for schizophrenia, arguing against any link with AMI being determined by psychiatric disorder status per se.


CONCLUSIONS
Being a register study, not all potential confounding variables could be examined.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings quantify significant associations between depression and AMI as well as between anxiety and AMI, and argue that these two psychiatric disorders should be added to the list of risk factors to coronary artery disease.
Unit for Psychiatric Research, Aalborg Psychiatric Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Mølleparkvej 10, DK-9000 Aalborg, Denmark. ahjakobsen@hotmail.com
Anne Helene
AH
Jakobsen
Leslie
L
Foldager
Gordon
G
Parker
Povl
P
Munk-Jørgensen
D000208:Acute Disease; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index