Synergistic effect between ischaemic heart disease and common mental disorders and the risk of premature exit from...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Psychiatry
• Public Health

Background:

• Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and common mental disorders (CMD), including depressive and anxiety disorders, frequently coexist.
• The impact of comorbid CMD on early labor market exit, specifically disability pension (DP), among IHD patients remains under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the individual and combined effects of IHD and CMD on the risk of receiving a DP.
• To analyze these risks separately for men and women of working age.

Main Methods:

• A population-based cohort study included over 4.8 million Swedish individuals aged 16-64.
• IHD and CMD were identified using healthcare and medication data.
• Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for DP from 2006-2010.

Main Results:

• Both IHD and CMD independently increased DP risk significantly in both sexes.
• Individuals with both IHD and CMD faced substantially higher crude HRs for DP (18.38 in women, 25.58 in men).
• Synergistic effects were observed, though they diminished after adjusting for socio-demographic and other somatic comorbidities.

Conclusions:

• Comorbid CMD significantly worsens the prognosis for IHD patients regarding early labor market exit.
• The pathway to DP in IHD patients is multifactorial, influenced by CMD and other somatic conditions.