Depression, anxiety tied to less ideal CV health in young adults
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Depression and anxiety in young adults are associated with less ideal CV health, which may be improved with a better diet, physical activity and improved sleep, researchers reported.
“Mechanisms linking mental health and cardiovascular health are likely multifactorial. Depression is characterized by anhedonia and lack of motivation, which may limit one’s ability to engage in physical activity and adhere to a healthy dietary pattern. Individuals with either depression or anxiety may eat less heart-healthy foods or smoke to cope with their negative emotional state,” Sierra L. Patterson, MPH, a predoctoral student in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues wrote.
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The researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 875 individuals aged 18 to 34 years (mean age, 28 years; 83% women) who completed the Emory Healthy Aging Study Health History Questionnaire between 2015 and 2019. Participants were stratified by whether they had poor, intermediate or ideal levels of the “Life’s Essential 8” CV health metrics as defined by the American Heart Association.
Excluding sleep, the scores for all metrics were summed to create a total CV health score ranging from 0 to 14 for all individuals included, and then the scores were classified as low, moderate or high (0-7, 8-11 or 12-14, respectively). Individuals were also classified based on smoking status, exercise each week and BMI.
CV health, anxiety and depression
The mean CV health score was 10.4 and was higher in women than men (10.5 vs. 9.9). Among the cohort, 62.3% of individuals had no anxiety, 23% had mild anxiety and 14.7% had moderate to severe anxiety. In addition, 60.6% of participants had no depression, 24.8% had mild depression and 14.6% had moderate to severe depression.
Overall, moderate CV health scores of 8 to 11 were recorded in 55.7% of individuals.
The researchers found that less than 3% of participants met criteria for ideal diet, 43.1% had ideal physical activity patterns, 69.7% had ideal sleep duration, 84.6% did not smoke, 61% had ideal BMI, 90% had ideal cholesterol, 93.3% had ideal BP, and 98.4% had ideal diabetes status.
Those with moderate to severe anxiety were less likely to meet ideal levels of physical activity (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.44-0.82), smoking (aPR = 0.9; 95% CI, 0.82-0.99) and BMI (aPR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66-0.95) compared with individuals with no anxiety, according to the researchers. Individuals with moderate to severe anxiety were also less likely to have high total CV health (aPR = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.7-0.96) compared with those with no anxiety.
Individuals with moderate to severe depression were less likely to meet ideal levels of physical activity (aPR = 0.48; 95% CI, 0.34-0.69), BP (aPR = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.99), BMI (aPR = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.61-0.91), and sleep (aPR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66-0.94) compared with individuals with no depression, the researchers wrote. Individuals with mild depression were also less likely to meet ideal levels of cholesterol (aPR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86-0.97), physical activity (aPR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.71-0.85) and BMI (aPR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.93) compared with those with no depression.
Supporting mental and CV health
“Depression and anxiety are associated with less ideal cardiovascular health in young adults,” Patterson and colleagues wrote. “Given these findings and the importance of achieving and sustaining cardiovascular health early in life to prevent CVD, we urge providers treating young adults to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors to support both mental and cardiovascular health.”
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