Association of Psychological Problems for Which Help Was Sought With Physical Illness

Persons with mental disorders are at increased risk for physical illness. Individuals who seek help for psychological problems might benefit from timely support and interventional approaches. This study aimed to explore the associations between psychological problems for which help was sought and physical illness.

The 7th survey of the Tromsø Study, which included 21,083 participants aged ≥40 years, was used in the study. The main exposure was psychological problems for which help was sought. Main outcomes were lifetime prevalence and time to onset of physical illness. Associations between psychological problems and physical illness were analyzed using logistic regression and survival analysis and adjusted for sex, birth year, smoking, education, and income. Data were collected in 2015-2016 and analyzed in 2023-2024.

Psychological problems were associated with smoking and having lower income but higher educational attainment. Psychological problems were associated with lifetime prevalence of hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, arthrosis, migraine, chronic pain, and cancer; ORs ranged from 1.15 (95% CI=1.04, 1.27) to 2.15 (95% CI=1.76, 2.62). Survival analysis demonstrated that individuals with psychological problems are at increased risk for subsequent physical illness; hazard ratios ranged from 1.18 (95% CI=1.06, 1.32) to 2.74 (95% CI=2.06, 3.65).

This study found that psychological problems with or without a diagnosis of mental disorder might be an important marker of increased risk for physical illness.