[Health Tip] Young Adults with Mental Illness Have Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke

A domestic study has found that adults in their 20s and 30s who have suffered from or are currently suffering from mental illnesses such as depression have a 58% higher risk of myocardial infarction and a 42% higher risk of stroke compared to their peers. It appears that young adults with a history of mental illness should also be cautious about cardiovascular diseases.

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Seoul National University Hospital announced that a joint research team consisting of Professor Choi Euigeun and Clinical Instructor Park Chansoon from the Department of Cardiology, along with Professor Han Kyungdo from Soongsil University, tracked and observed 6,557,727 adults aged 20 to 39 who underwent national health screenings between 2009 and 2012, and published these research results.

Patients with mental illnesses are known to have a shorter life expectancy than the general population, which is attributed to their vulnerability to physical diseases. In particular, it has been reported that mental illness patients are more prone to cardiovascular diseases, one of the leading causes of death, compared to the general population.

The research team divided approximately 6.5 million young adults in their 20s and 30s into groups based on the presence or absence of a history of mental illness to verify whether mental illness at a young age increases the lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease, and tracked the occurrence of myocardial infarction and stroke over about seven years.

In this study, mental illnesses were defined as 10 types: ▲depressive disorder ▲bipolar disorder ▲schizophrenia ▲insomnia ▲anxiety disorder ▲post-traumatic stress disorder ▲personality disorder ▲somatic symptom disorder ▲eating disorder ▲substance use disorder. The observation showed that 850,000 people, or 13% of the total, had a history of mental illness. This means that about one in seven to eight people had suffered from or were suffering from mental illness.

Comparing the relative risk of cardiovascular disease according to the presence or absence of a history of mental illness, those with a history of mental illness had a 1.58 times higher risk of myocardial infarction and a 1.42 times higher risk of stroke. On the other hand, there was no difference in lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking) and chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia) based on mental illness status.

Meanwhile, the impact on the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke varied by mental illness. All mental illnesses increased the risk of myocardial infarction, with post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder history increasing the risk of myocardial infarction by 3.13 times and 2.47 times, respectively.

Regarding the risk of stroke, a history of personality disorder and schizophrenia increased the risk by 3.06 times and 2.95 times, respectively. Conversely, a history of post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorder had little effect on the risk of stroke.

The research team emphasized that these results show that adults in their 20s and 30s with a history of mental illness may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease occurrence compared to their peers despite their young age. Professor Choi said, "These research results demonstrate the importance of active health screenings and lifestyle improvements for cardiovascular disease prevention in young adults who have received or are receiving psychiatric treatment," adding, "Further research is needed to determine whether cardiovascular disease risk normalizes to the general population level during mental illness treatment."

This study was published in the latest issue of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

(From left) Professor Choi Euigeun, Department of Cardiology, Seoul National University Hospital; Clinical Lecturer Park Chansun, Seoul National University Hospital; Professor Han Kyungdo, Soongsil University. [Photo by Seoul National University Hospital]