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Major depression is not associated with higher myocardial infarction rates: insights from a large database

Sarah Meskal1, Manrit Gill1, Mohammad Reza Movahed1,2

  • 1University of Arizona, College of Medicine-Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.

Future Cardiology
|August 13, 2024
PubMed

Insights

This study found no significant association between major depression and myocardial infarction (MI). The research suggests depression may not be an independent risk factor for heart attacks.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Psychiatry
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Previous research suggests a link between depression and increased cardiovascular disease risk.
  • Many studies assessed depression after heart disease onset, potentially confounding results.
  • This study aimed to evaluate depression as a potential risk factor preceding myocardial infarction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between major depression and myocardial infarction (MI).
  • To determine if depression is an independent risk factor for ST-elevation MI (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation MI (NSTEMI).

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a large inpatient database (National Inpatient Sample) from 2005 to 2020.
  • Inclusion of patients over 30 years old with diagnostic codes for STEMI, NSTEMI, and major depression (ICD-9 and ICD-10).
  • Statistical analysis to assess the odds ratio of MI in patients with and without depression.

Main Results:

  • The study included over 14.8 million MI patients, with over 660,000 diagnosed with major depression.
  • No significant association was found between major depression and the occurrence of STEMI or NSTEMI.
  • Odds ratios for MI in patients with depression showed no consistent significant association over the study period.

Conclusions:

  • Major depression does not appear to be an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction.
  • Further research may be needed to clarify the complex relationship between mental health and cardiovascular outcomes.
  • Findings challenge previous assumptions about depression's direct role in triggering heart attacks.

Keywords:
NSTEMINational Inpatient DatabaseSTEMIacute myocardial infarctioncardiovascular diseasedepressionmental healthmyocardial infarction riskretrospective study

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