Anxiety disorders and risk of stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are a very prevalent modifiable condition associated with risk of stroke increased by 24%. This evidence could inform the development of interventions for the management of anxiety and the prevention of stroke. Further studies on the risk of stroke in patients with anxiety, and the explanatory factors for this association, are required.

Psychological Distress and Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke in the 45 and Up Study

“…3,4 Common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, or measures of their symptoms, are thought to be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, but metaanalyses have found substantial heterogeneity between studies and inconsistency in findings. [5][6][7][8] Controversy persists as to whether common mental disorders or their symptoms play an independent aetiological role in the development of CVD, with the potential for residual confounding being a recurrent criticism of existing studies. Studies which define depression or anxiety based on a clinical diagnosis include a selected population, since they include those people who have sought or have access to healthcare for their mental health problems.…”

Impact of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) on prehospital delay of acute myocardial infarction patients. Findings from the multicenter MEDEA study

“…Studies examining the impact of GAD on cardiovascular prognosis have yielded conflicting results: On one hand, GAD has been identified as an etiological risk factor of adverse cardiovascular events [11] such as ischemic stroke [12], myocardial infarction [13,9]. On the other hand, recently several large scale studies show that GAD patients had a better prognosis following a cardiac event [14][15][16][17].…”

Disparities in the management of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…(Meng et al 2012, Vancampfort et al 2016, Jiang et al 2014, Pan et al 2015, de Leon and Diaz 2005, Chaiton et al 2009, Ayerbe et al 2018) Strong evidence, also shows that those with psychiatric disorders, have higher incidence of cardiovascular (CV) diseases, that can be 34 to 71% higher for those with depression or schizophrenia respectively, compared to those without each disorder, and are the biggest contributor to the premature death of these patients. (Colton and Manderscheid 2006, Viron and Stern 2010, Walker et al 2015, Van der Kooy et al 2007, Roest et al 2010, Pérez-Piñar et al 2017, Fan et al 2013, Prieto et al 2014, Meng et al 2012, Vancampfort et al 2016, Jiang et al 2014, Pan et al 2015, de Leon and Diaz 2005, Wu and Kling 2016, Dong et al 2012) A relevant and modifiable factor that could explain the high CV morbidity and mortality of those with psychiatric disorders is that they probably have poorer access to healthcare, including adequate management of CVRFs. (Kaufman et al 2012, Viron and Stern 2010) How these disparities in healthcare may affect the management of different CVRFs for those with different mental health disorders is however poorly understood.…”