A senior research investigator of a recently-published study said previous research has specified that people diagnosed with a serious mental illness die from 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population, and their primary cause of death is heart disease.
As indicated in a EurekAlert! report, an analysis of almost 600,000 adults in the United States showed that those diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder "may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease at younger ages" compared to adults not diagnosed with one of the said serious mental disorders.
According to the new study's lead author Rebecca Rossom, MD, MS, a senior research investigator in behavioral health at the Center for Chronic Care Innovation at HealthPartners Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, their study "focused on the contribution of cardiovascular risk factors" like blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index, cholesterol, and smoking status, to compare general heart disease risk for those with and without serious mental condition.
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The study reveals that people who have severe mental disorders had a higher risk of heart disease at younger ages than their peers, which emphasizes the essentiality of addressing cardiovascular risk factors for these people as early as possible.
3 Serious Mental Illnesses
Researchers of the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association believe this is the first research to investigate estimated 30-year or lifetime cardiovascular risk in a large sample of adult outpatients who are diagnosed with one of the three mental illnesses mentioned, the three serious mental disorders specific to this research.
Rossom explained a lot of past studies of cardiovascular risk for people who have serious mental illness had included only those who were hospitalized, and they tend to have a more serious mental disorder and frailer health compared to outpatients. On the contrary, this research comprised a large sample of non-hospitalized adults in the US.
The National Institute of Mental Health describes bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depressive illness or manic depression, as a "mental illness that causes unusual shifts in mood," levels of activity, energy, concentration, and the ability to perform daily tasks.
Schizophrenia, on the other hand, can cause delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech. Those who have this disorder may appear like they have lost touch with reality, leading to substantial distress for the individual, his family, and friends. Symptoms of this mental condition can be disabling and persistent.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders describes schizoaffective disorder as an "interrupted duration of illness" during which a major mood episode, manic or depressive, occurs on top of meeting criteria for schizophrenia.
Essentiality of Addressing Cardiovascular Risk
Prediction models that provide a standardized metric were employed to examine cardiovascular risk factors and predict the probability of a heart attack, stroke, or even death from cardiovascular disease.
Describing their findings, Rossom explained that even at younger ages, people with severe mental disorders had a higher risk of heart disease than their peers, emphasizing the essentiality of addressing cardiovascular risk factors for these people as early as possible. She added, "interventions to address the risk of heart disease" are maximally advantageous when commenced at younger ages.
She also said Medical Xpress reported, they're encouraging health care systems and clinicians to use the 30-year cardiovascular risk estimates for young adult individuals who have a serious mental disorder, as they may be used beginning at age 18.
Right now, she explained, approximations of 10-year heart disease risk are employed most often, and they cannot be used until people are at least aged 40 years old, "which is too late" to begin addressing the risk of heart disease in individuals who have a serious mental disorder.
Related information about the link between mental health and heart disease is shown on CBS 8 San Diego's YouTube video below:
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