Mental health disorders and their impact on cardiovascular health disparities

Summary & key facts

This review found that mental health disorders are common and closely linked with worse heart health. People with conditions like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or PTSD have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and higher death rates from it. The reasons include biology, behaviours, and problems in health care. The authors say there are big gaps in diagnosing and treating both mental illness and heart disease, and they call for more research and integrated care that also tackles social and health‑system inequalities.

Key facts:

• About 1 in 4 people experience a mental disorder at some point in their life.
• People with mental health disorders have a 50% to two‑fold higher risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes compared with people without these disorders.
• On average, people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder live about 10–20 years less than the general population.
• Mental health disorders are estimated to contribute to 14% of all deaths globally, which the paper gives as about 8 million deaths per year.
• More than 40% of people with cardiovascular disease have a mental health condition.
• The review says current data probably underestimate the true burden of mental disorders by more than one‑third because of frequent misclassification.
• The Global Burden of Disease study estimated a greater than 25% relative increase in global prevalence of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders around the COVID‑19 period, but the paper notes it is unclear whether these increases
• People with mental health disorders are often excluded from cardiovascular research or are less likely to take part, which limits knowledge about their needs.
• The relationship between mental health disorders and cardiovascular disease is bidirectional: heart disease can also trigger new mental health disorders.

Abstract

Mental health disorders are highly prevalent and are associated with significant morbidity, disability, and reduced life expectancy. A key contributor to this disparity is the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is partially driven ...

Topics

Cardiac Health and Mental Health Health, psychology, and well-being Mental Health Treatment and Access

Categories

Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine Health Sciences Medicine

Tags

Cardiovascular health Disease Environmental health Internal medicine Medicine Mental health Psychiatry Psychology