This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Traumatic events, financial stress increase risk for MI in women
Middle-aged and older women with an accumulation of negative life events, particularly financial stresses and major traumatic events, had an increased risk for MI, according to new study results.
Researchers for the Women’s Health Study assessed the relationship between negative life events and MI risk in 26,763 seemingly healthy, postmenopausal women.
“Much of the prior research related to negative life events was done in persons who have a history of heart attacks and in men,” Michelle A. Albert, MD, MPH, director of the NURTURE Center at University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, said in a press release. “It is important to assess these relationships in middle-aged and older women as this age group is more susceptible to heart disease as they age and are likely to live longer with disability.”
Michelle A. Albert
Participants self-reported life events to researchers and were followed for approximately 9 years.
Albert, Julius Ngwa, PhD, from Howard University, and colleagues compared 267 women with a history of MI and 281 women of a similar age who smoked.
Cumulative life events scores were determined based on responses to 12 questions about negative life events within the past 5 years, such as job loss, legal trouble or death of a close family member, and three questions about lifetime traumatic events, such as a life-threatening illness.
Increasing cumulative life event score was associated with increasing but nonsignificant risk for MI (P = .16), according to logistic regression analysis.
Household annual income of less than $50,000 was significantly associated with MI in women (OR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.05-1.49).
After adjustment for CVD risk factors and socioeconomic status, the odds for MI were significantly increased by 65% among women who reported traumatic life events compared with those who did not (OR = 1.65; 95% CI, 1.02-2.68). Further analyses showed that women who reported financial burdens had a twofold increase in the risk for MI (OR = 2.6; 95% CI, 1.2-5.64).
“Our data suggest that even a single traumatic life event that could have occurred in the distant or recent past might be akin to some elements of post-traumatic stress conditions that have negative cardiovascular impact, and thus strengthens the case for routine assessment of psychological factors as part of cardiovascular risk assessment in women,” Albert told Cardiology Today.
To minimize the effects of psychological stressors, Albert suggests that physicians discuss traumatic life events with their patients and implement a multi-modal/disciplinary plan.
The researchers concluded that further research is warranted, especially in women with limited socioeconomic resources. They also plan to study the roles of social support, coping and other related factors, Albert said.
“We don’t know whether women are more physiologically vulnerable, as some prior research suggests that decreases in blood flow to the heart caused by acute mentally induced stress is more common in women and individuals with less social support. At the biological level, we know that adverse experiences including psychological ones can lead to increased inflammation and cortisol levels. However, the interplay between gender, heart disease and psychological factors is poorly understood,” Albert said in the press release.
This abstract was originally prepared for presentation at the American Heart Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions, which was canceled due to protests and an ongoing state of emergency in Baltimore. – by Stephanie Viguers
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.