Depression & Anxiety Raise Risk Of Major Adverse Cardiac Events

Depression and anxiety are independently associated with a higher risk of experiencing a major adverse cardiac event (MACE) according to an analysis of data from people enrolled in the Mass General Brigham Biobank from 2010 to 2020. Among those with depression, MACE risk was 1.24 times higher. Among those with both anxiety plus depression, MACE risk was 1.35 times higher, and remained higher after adjusting for demographics, lifestyle, cardiovascular, and socioeconomic factors.

Some of the higher risk was due to heightened stress-related neural activity and autonomic-immune dysregulation. The risk of MACE was highest among those with . . .