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Evidence of a Causal Link Between the Well-Being Spectrum and the Risk of Myocardial Infarction: A Mendelian
Gull Rukh1, Shafqat Ahmad2,3, Lars Lind4
1Functional Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Frontiers in Genetics
|May 16, 2022
Summary
Higher psychological wellbeing causally reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, particularly heart failure and myocardial infarction. Depressive symptoms significantly drive this protective association, supporting interventions to improve mental health for heart health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular epidemiology
- Psychological risk factors
- Mendelian randomization
Background:
- Epidemiological studies link psychological factors to cardiovascular disease (CVD) pathogenesis.
- Causal nature of these associations remains unclear.
- Wellbeing spectrum (WBS) encompasses life satisfaction, positive affect, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal association between the wellbeing spectrum (WBS) and CVD risk.
- To examine the causal role of WBS constituent traits in CVD development.
Main Methods:
- Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.
- Utilized genetic variants to predict WBS and its traits.
- Assessed association with four CVD outcomes: atrial fibrillation, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke.
Main Results:
- Genetically predicted WBS causally associated with reduced risk of heart failure (OR: 0.62) and myocardial infarction (OR: 0.60).
- Depressive symptoms were the primary WBS trait linked to increased heart failure and myocardial infarction risk.
- No significant associations found between WBS or its traits and atrial fibrillation or ischemic stroke.
Conclusions:
- Higher WBS is causally associated with decreased risk of heart failure and myocardial infarction.
- Depressive symptoms play a key role in the WBS-CVD association.
- Findings support psychological wellbeing improvement as a strategy for CVD prevention.
Keywords:
Mendelian randomizationcardiovascular diseasedepressive symptomslife satisfactionneuroticismpositive affectwellbeingMore Related Videos
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