Analysis of COVID-19 Infection and Mortality Among Patients With Psychiatric Disorders, 2020.

Importance: People with major psychiatric disorders are more likely to have comorbidities associated with worse outcomes of COVID-19. This fact alone could determine greater vulnerability of people with major psychiatric disorders to COVID-19. Objective: To assess the odds of testing positive for and mortality from COVID-19 among and between patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders and a reference group in a large national database. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used an electronic health record data set aggregated from many national sources in the United States and licensed from Optum with current and historical data on patients tested for COVID-19 in 2020. Three psychiatric cohorts (patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders, or anxiety disorders) were compared with a reference group with no major psychiatric conditions. Statistical analysis was performed from March to April 2021. Exposure: The exposures observed include lab-confirmed positivity for COVID-19 and mortality. Main Outcomes and Measures: The odds of testing positive for COVID-19 in 2020 and the odds of death from COVID-19 were measured. Results: The population studied included 2 535 098 unique persons, 3350 with schizophrenia, 26 610 with mood disorders, and 18 550 with anxiety disorders. The mean (SD) age was 44 (23) years; 233 519 were non-Hispanic African American, 1 583 440 were non-Hispanic Caucasian; and 1 580 703 (62%) were female. The schizophrenia cohort (positivity rate: 9.86%; adjusted OR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.84-0.97]) and the mood disorder cohort (positivity rate: 9.86%; adjusted OR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.87-0.99]) had a significantly lower rate of positivity than the anxiety disorder cohort (positivity rate: 11.17%; adjusted OR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.98-1.12) which was closer to the reference group (11.91%). After fully adjusting for demographic factors and comorbid conditions, patients with schizophrenia were nearly 4 times more likely to die from the disease than the reference group (OR, 3.74; 95% CI, 2.66-5.24). The mood disorders COVID-19 cohort had a 2.76 times greater odds of mortality than the reference group (OR, 2.76; 95% CI, 2.00-3.81), and the anxiety disorders cohort had a 2.39 times greater odds of mortality than the reference group (OR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.68-3.27). Conclusions and Relevance: By examining a large database while controlling for multiple confounding factors such as age, race and ethnicity, and comorbid medical conditions, the present study found that patients with schizophrenia had much increased odds of mortality by COVID-19.

Depressive and anxiety disorders worsen the prognosis of glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most malignant tumors. Depressive and anxiety disorders may co-exist with GBM. We investigated whether depression and anxiety influenced the outcomes of GBM. The Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scales were used to investigate the mental condition of GBM patients in our department, and the overall survival times of these patients were monitored. The scores on both scales were higher in GBM patients than in healthy controls. For each scale, GBM patients were divided into high- and low-score groups based on the average score. The prognosis was poorer for GBM patients in the high-score groups than for those in the low-score groups. Moreover, magnetic resonance imaging revealed that tumor necrosis was more prevalent among high-scored GBM patients. Cellular experiments were performed on primary GBM cells from patients with either high or low scores on both scales. Sphere formation, EdU and wound healing assays revealed greater proliferation and invasion capacities in GBM cells from patients with high scores on both scales. Western blotting assay revealed significantly different expression of epithelial and mesenchymal markers between the two groups. Thus, our analysis revealed a clinically important correlation between depression/anxiety and GBM prognosis.

Mortality in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the hypothesis that patients diagnosed with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) on video-EEG monitoring (VEM) have increased mortality by comparison to the general population. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included patients evaluated in VEM units of 3 tertiary hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2015. Diagnosis was based on consensus opinion of experienced epileptologists and neuropsychiatrists at each hospital. Mortality was determined in patients diagnosed with PNES, epilepsy, or both conditions by linkage to the Australian National Death Index. Lifetime history of psychiatric disorders in PNES was determined from formal neuropsychiatric reports. RESULTS: A total of 5,508 patients underwent VEM. A total of 674 (12.2%) were diagnosed with PNES, 3064 (55.6%) with epilepsy, 175 (3.2%) with both conditions, and 1,595 (29.0%) received other diagnoses or had no diagnosis made. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of patients diagnosed with PNES was 2.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0-3.3). Those younger than 30 had an 8-fold higher risk of death (95% CI 3.4-19.8). Direct comparison revealed no significant difference in mortality rate between diagnostic groups. Among deaths in patients diagnosed with PNES (n = 55), external causes contributed 18%, with 20% of deaths in those younger than 50 years attributed to suicide, and "epilepsy" was recorded as the cause of death in 24%. CONCLUSIONS: Patients diagnosed with PNES have a SMR 2.5 times above the general population, dying at a rate comparable to those with drug-resistant epilepsy. This emphasizes the importance of prompt diagnosis, identification of risk factors, and implementation of appropriate strategies to prevent potential avoidable deaths.

Mental disorders and total mortality after 20 years in an adult general population sample.

BACKGROUND: General population data on associations between mental disorders and total mortality are rare. The aim was to analyze whether the number of mental disorders, single substance use, mood, anxiety, somatoform or eating disorders during the lifetime and whether treatment utilization may predict time to death 20 years later in the general adult population. METHODS: We used data from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, which includes DSM-IV diagnoses for substance use, mood, anxiety, somatoform, and eating disorders, for a sample of 4,075 residents in Germany who were 18-64 years old in 1996. Twenty years later, mortality was ascertained using the public mortality database for 4,028 study participants. Cox proportional hazards models were applied for disorders that existed at any time in life before the interview. RESULTS: The data revealed increased hazard ratios (HRs) for number of mental disorders (three or more; HR 1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-1.9) and for single disorders (alcohol dependence, dysthymia, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and hypochondriasis), with the reference group being study participants who had not suffered from any of the mental disorders analyzed and with adjustments made for age, sex, and education. Among individuals with any mental disorder during their lifetimes, having been an inpatient in treatment for a mental disorder was related to a higher HR (2.2; CI 1.6-3.0) than was not having been in any treatment for a mental disorder. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of adults in the general population, three or more mental disorders, alcohol dependence, dysthymia, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and hypochondriasis were related to premature death.

Diagnosed Mental Health Conditions and Risk of Suicide Mortality.

OBJECTIVE: Although mental health conditions are risk factors for suicide, limited data are available on suicide mortality associated with specific mental health conditions in the U.S. population. This study aimed to fill this gap. METHODS: This study used a case-control design. Patients in the case group were those who died by suicide between 2000 and 2013 and who were patients in eight health care systems in the Mental Health Research Network (N=2,674). Each was matched with 100 general population patients from the same system (N=267,400). Diagnostic codes for five mental health conditions in the year before death were obtained from medical records: anxiety disorders, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, depressive disorders, and schizophrenia spectrum disorder. RESULTS: Among patients in the case group, 51.3% had a recorded psychiatric diagnosis in the year before death, compared with 12.7% of control group patients. Risk of suicide mortality was highest among those with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, after adjustment for age and sociodemographic characteristics (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=15.0) followed by bipolar disorder (AOR=13.2), depressive disorders (AOR=7.2), anxiety disorders (AOR=5.8), and ADHD (AOR=2.4). The risk of suicide death among those with a diagnosed bipolar disorder was higher in women than men. CONCLUSIONS: Half of those who died by suicide had at least one diagnosed mental health condition in the year before death, and most mental health conditions were associated with an increased risk of suicide. Findings suggest the importance of suicide screening and providing an approach to improve awareness of mental health conditions.

Impact of anxiety on the post-discharge outcomes of patients discharged from the hospital after an acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Symptoms of anxiety are highly prevalent among survivors of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but do not necessarily indicate an anxiety disorder. The extent to which symptoms of anxiety or a diagnosis of this condition impacts hospital readmission and post-discharge mortality among patients with an ACS remains unclear. METHODS: We used data from 1909 patients discharged from six hospitals in Massachusetts and Georgia after an ACS. Moderate/severe symptoms of anxiety were defined based on responses to a Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire during the patient's index hospitalization. The diagnosis of an anxiety disorder was based on review of hospital medical records. Multivariable adjusted Poisson regression and Cox proportional-hazards models were used to estimate the risk of 30-day hospital readmissions and 2-year total mortality. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 61 years, two thirds were men, and 78% were non-Hispanic whites. In this population, 10.4% had a documented diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, 18.8% had moderate/severe symptoms of anxiety, and 70.8% had neither a diagnosis nor symptoms of anxiety. Neither a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder nor symptoms of anxiety were associated with 30-day all-cause or cardiovascular-related rehospitalizations. Patients with an anxiety disorder (multivariable adjusted HR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.11-3.42) were at greatest risk for dying during the 2-year follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: We identified patients with an anxiety disorder as being at greater risk for dying after hospital discharge for an ACS. Interventions may be more appropriately targeted to those with a history of, rather than acute symptoms of, anxiety.

Recent Advances in the Understanding and Treatment of Health Anxiety.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To examine the diagnosis of health anxiety, its prevalence in different settings, public health significance, treatment, and outcome. RECENT FINDINGS: Health anxiety is similar to hypochondriasis but is characterized by fear of, rather than conviction of, illness. Lifetime prevalence rates are 6% in the population and as high as 20% in hospital out-patients, leading to greater costs to health services through unnecessary medical contacts. Its prevalence may be increasing because of excessive internet browsing (cyberchondria). Drug treatment with antidepressants has some efficacy but is not well-liked, but psychological treatments, including cognitive behavior therapy, stress management, mindfulness training, and acceptance and commitment therapy, given either individually, in groups, or over the Internet, have all proved efficacious in both the short and longer term. Untreated health anxiety leads to premature mortality. Health anxiety has become an increasing clinical and public health issue at a time when people are being formally asked to take more responsibility in monitoring their own health. More attention by health services is needed.

Psychiatric comorbidity increases mortality in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

OBJECTIVE: We determined the association between any common mental disorder (CMD: depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder) and mortality and suicide in three immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), versus age-, sex- and geographically-matched controls. METHODS: Using administrative data, we identified 28,384 IMID cases (IBD: 8695; MS: 5496; RA: 14,503) and 141,672 matched controls. We determined annual rates of mortality, suicide and suicide attempts. We evaluated the association of any CMD with all-cause mortality and suicide using multivariable Cox regression models. RESULTS: In the IMID cohort, any CMD was associated with increased mortality. We observed a greater than additive interaction between depression and IMID status (attributable proportion 5.2%), but a less than additive interaction with anxiety (attributable proportion -13%). Findings were similar for MS and RA. In IBD, a less than additive interaction existed with depression and anxiety on mortality risk. The IMID cohort with any CMD had an increased suicide risk versus the matched cohort without CMD. CONCLUSION: CMD are associated with increased mortality and suicide risk in IMID. In MS and RA, the effects of depression on mortality risk are greater than associations of these IMID and depression alone.

Age Differences in Death and Suicidal Ideation in Anxious Primary Care Patients.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine age differences in the likelihood of endorsing of death and suicidal ideation in primary care patients with anxiety disorders. METHOD: Participants were drawn from the Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) Study, an effectiveness trial for primary care patients with panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and/or social anxiety disorder (SAD). RESULTS: Approximately one third of older adults with anxiety disorders reported feeling like they were better off dead. Older adults with PD and SAD were more likely to endorse suicidal ideation lasting at least more than half the prior week compared with younger adults with these disorders. Older adults with SAD endorsed higher rates of suicidal ideation compared with older adults with other anxiety disorders. Multivariate analyses revealed the importance of physical health, social support, and comorbid MDD in this association. CONCLUSIONS: Suicidal ideation is common in anxious, older, primary care patients and is particularly prevalent in socially anxious older adults. Findings speak to the importance of physical health, social functioning, and MDD in this association. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: When working with anxious older adults it is important to conduct a thorough suicide risk assessment and teach skills to cope with death and suicidal ideation-related thoughts.

Impact of Anxiety Disorders on Mortality for Persons With Diabetes: A National Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of the relationship between psychiatric disorders and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have focused on the role of depression. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of anxiety disorders (ADs) on mortality in persons with DM in Taiwan. METHODS: We used Taiwan׳s National Health Insurance claims database interlinked externally with Taiwan׳s Death Registry to study mortality in diabetic patients with and without ADs during the study period 2000-2004. Five-year survival cures were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method for DM with ADs and DM without ADs. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the predictive factors for DM mortality. RESULTS: We identified 5685 persons with DM, including 732 (12.88%) who also had ADs. The 5-year survival was longer for diabetic patients with ADs than those without it. A higher risk of mortality was found in diabetic patients who were male. It was also higher for those who were 45-64 years old and ≥65 years old, those who resided in rural areas, those who had incomes

Anxiety disorders and all-cause mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies that examined the relationship between anxiety disorders, or clinically significant anxiety symptoms, at baseline and all-cause mortality at follow-up relative to control participants without clinically significant anxiety. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycInfo, and CINAHL were searched through July 2015, along with manual searches of published reviews and forward and backward snowball searches of included studies. Studies were excluded if anxiety was not defined with a standardized instrument, or if participants were followed-up for 1 year or less. The initial search yielded 7901 articles after the removal of duplicates, of which 328 underwent full-text screening. RESULTS: Forty-two estimates from 36 articles were included in the meta-analysis with a total sample of 127,552 participants and over 11,573 deaths. The overall hazard ratio (HR) estimate of mortality in clinically anxious participants relative to controls was 1.09 (95 % CI 1.01-1.16); however, this was reduced after adjusting for publication bias (1.03; 95 % CI 0.95-1.13). There was no evidence of increased mortality risk among anxious participants derived from community samples (0.99; 95 % CI 0.96-1.02) and in studies that adjusted for a diagnosis of depression (1.01; 95 % CI 0.96-1.06). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that positive associations in the literature are attributable to studies in smaller samples, comorbid depression (or other psychiatric conditions) among participants, and possible confounding in medical patient samples followed-up for short durations.

Increased mortality among people with anxiety disorders: total population study.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders and depression are the most common mental disorders worldwide and have a striking impact on global disease burden. Although depression has consistently been found to increase mortality; the role of anxiety disorders in predicting mortality risk is unclear. AIMS: To assess mortality risk in people with anxiety disorders. METHOD: We used nationwide Danish register data to conduct a prospective cohort study with over 30 million person-years of follow-up. RESULTS: In total, 1066 (2.1%) people with anxiety disorders died during an average follow-up of 9.7 years. The risk of death by natural and unnatural causes was significantly higher among individuals with anxiety disorders (natural mortality rate ratio (MRR) = 1.39, 95% CI 1.28-1.51; unnatural MRR = 2.46, 95% CI 2.20-2.73) compared with the general population. Of those who died from unnatural causes, 16.5% had comorbid diagnoses of depression (MRR = 11.72, 95% CI 10.11-13.51). CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety disorders significantly increased mortality risk. Comorbidity of anxiety disorders and depression played an important part in the increased mortality.

Patient outcomes up to 15†years after stroke: survival, disability, quality of life, cognition and mental health.

BACKGROUND: The global epidemiological shift of disease burden towards long-term conditions means understanding long-term outcomes of cardiovascular disease is increasingly important. More people are surviving stroke to experience its long-term consequences, but outcomes in people living more >10 years after stroke have not been described in detail. METHODS: Data were collected for the population-based South London Stroke Register, with participants followed up annually until death. Outcomes were survival, disability, activity, cognitive impairment, quality of life, depression and anxiety. FINDINGS: Of 2625 people having first-ever stroke, 262 (21%) survived to 15 years. By 15 years, 61% (95% CI 55% to 67%) of the survivors were male, with a median age of stroke onset of 58 years (IQR 48-66). 87% of the 15-year survivors were living at home and 33.8% (26.2% to 42.4%) had mild disability, 14.3% (9.2% to 21.4%) moderate disability and 15.0% (9.9% to 22.3%) severe disability. The prevalence of disability increased with time but 1 in 10 of the 15-year survivors had lived with moderate-severe disability since their stroke. At 15 years, the prevalence of cognitive impairment was 30.0% (19.5% to 43.1%), depression 39.1% (30.9% to 47.9%) and anxiety 34.9% (27.0% to 43.8%), and survivors reported greater loss of physical than mental quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: One in five people live at least 15 years after a stroke and poor functional, cognitive and psychological outcomes affect a substantial proportion of these long-term survivors. As the global population of individuals with cardiovascular long-term conditions grows, research and health services will need to increasingly focus on preventing and managing the long-term consequences of stroke.

Comorbid Anxiety and Depression and Their Impact on Cardiovascular Disease in Type 2 Diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II.

BACKGROUND: The aims were to determine whether anxious depression, defined by latent class analysis (LCA), predicts cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes and to compare the predictive power of anxious depression with Diagnostic & Statistical Manual Versions IV and 5 (DSM-IV/5) categories of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). METHODS: Prospective observational study of 1,337 type 2 participants. Baseline assessment with the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire and the GAD Scale; LCA-defined groups with minor or major anxious depression based on anxiety and depression symptoms. Cox modeling used to compare the independent impact of: (1) LCA anxious depression, (2) DSM-IV/5 depression, (3) GAD on incident cardiovascular events and deaths after 4 years. RESULTS: LCA minor and major anxious depression was present in 21.9 and 7.8% of participants, respectively, DSM-IV/5 minor and major depression in 6.2 and 6.1%, respectively, and GAD in 4.8%. There were 110 deaths, 31 cardiovascular deaths, and 199 participants had incident cardiovascular events. In adjusted models, minor anxious depression (Hazard ratio (95% confidence intervals): 1.70 (1.15-2.50)) and major anxious depression (1.90 (1.11-3.25)) predicted incident cardiovascular events and major anxious depression also predicted cardiovascular mortality (4.32 (1.35-13.86)). By comparison, incident cardiovascular events were predicted by DSM-IV/5 major depression (2.10 (1.22-3.62)) only and cardiovascular mortality was predicted by both DSM-IV/5 major depression (3.56 (1.03-12.35)) and GAD (5.92 (1.84-19.08)). CONCLUSIONS: LCA-defined anxious depression is more common than DSM-IV/5 categories and is a strong predictor of cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes. These data suggest that this diagnostic scheme has predictive validity and clinical relevance.

Excess mortality due to depression and anxiety in the United States: results from a nationally representative survey.

OBJECTIVES: We compared the mortality of persons with and without anxiety and depression in a nationally representative survey and examined the role of socioeconomic factors, chronic diseases and health behaviors in explaining excess mortality. METHODS: The 1999 National Health Interview Survey was linked with mortality data through 2011. We calculated the hazard ratio (HR) for mortality by presence or absence of anxiety/depression and evaluated potential mediators. We calculated the population attributable risk of mortality for anxiety/depression. RESULTS: Persons with anxiety/depression died 7.9 years earlier than other persons. At a population level, 3.5% of deaths were attributable to anxiety/depression. Adjusting for demographic factors, anxiety/depression was associated with an elevated risk of mortality [HR=1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.40, 1.84]. Chronic diseases and health behaviors explained much of the elevated risk. Adjusting for demographic factors, people with past-year contact with a mental health professional did not demonstrate excess mortality associated with anxiety/depression while those without contact did. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety/depression presents a mortality burden at both individual and population levels. Our findings are consistent with targeting health behaviors and physical illnesses as strategies for reducing this excess mortality among people with anxiety/depression.

[Depression, anxiety, stress, and mortality]. / Depressiia, trevoga, stress i smertnost'.

The analytical paper summarizes the main results of recent investigations of the relationships of depression, anxiety, and stress with overall and cardiovascular mortality. It shows that depression and stress are associated with an increased risk of death mainly from cardiovascular diseases, and depression treatment and stress control can increase life expectancy.

Suicides following inpatient psychiatric hospitalization: A nationwide case control study.

BACKGROUND: Research shows the elevated risk of suicide associated with current or recent inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. However, it is unclear whether this applies in the area of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe where mental health care has not been deinstitutionalized yet. The present study aims to examine the rates of suicides among psychiatric patients during and shortly after discharge from inpatient hospitalization in the Czech Republic. METHODS: All inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations and all suicides committed between 2008 and 2012 have been merged on an individual data basis. The time horizon between the admission and two months after the discharge from inpatient psychiatric facility was utilized and multiple logistic regression was performed to calculate the odds of committing suicide. RESULTS: A total of 137,290 inpatients were hospitalized in Czech psychiatric facilities between 2008 and 2012, and 402 of the inpatients committed suicide during the hospitalization or within the 2 months after the discharge. Highly elevated risks of suicides were found to be associated with being a male, having a history of multiple hospitalizations, and having a diagnosis of affective, anxiety, or personality disorder. LIMITATIONS: Limitations are related to the design of the study, and its reliance on routinely collected data. Also, it was not possible to assess the odds of suicide associated with inpatient psychiatric hospitalization against the odds of suicide in general population. CONCLUSIONS: During psychiatric treatment and recovery, suicial behavior and idealiation is increased. In psychiatry, hospitalization may be a risky period for suicide behavior. Suicide rates during and soon after the psychiatric hospitalization identified in this study from Central and Eastern Europe are similar to the findings from Western Europe. Preventive strategies should be tailored accordingly.

Metabolic syndrome, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and ten-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in middle aged and elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: Studies investigating specifically whether metabolic syndrome (MetS) and common psychiatric disorders are independently associated with mortality are lacking. In a middle-aged general population, we investigated the association of the MetS, current major depressive episode (MDE), lifetime MDE, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with ten-year all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. METHODS: From February 2003 until January 2004, 1115 individuals aged 45 years and older were randomly selected from a primary care practice and prospectively evaluated for: (1) MetS (The World Health Organization [WHO], National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III and International Diabetes Federation [IDF] definitions); (2) current MDE and GAD, and lifetime MDE (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview); and (3) conventional cardiovascular risk factors. Follow-up continued through January, 2013. RESULTS: During the 9.32 ± 0.47 years of follow-up, there were 248 deaths, of which 148 deaths were attributed to cardiovascular causes. In women, WHO-MetS and IDF-MetS were associated with greater all-cause (HR-values range from 1.77 to 1.91; p-values ≤ 0.012) and cardiovascular (HR-values range from 1.83 to 2.77; p-values ≤ 0.013) mortality independent of cardiovascular risk factors and MDE/GAD. Current GAD predicted greater cardiovascular mortality (HR-values range from 1.86 to 1.99; p-values ≤ 0.025) independently from MetS and cardiovascular risk factors. In men, the MetS and MDE/GAD were not associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In middle aged women, the MetS and GAD predicted greater 10-year cardiovascular mortality independently from each other; 10-year all-cause mortality was independently predicted by the MetS. MetS and GAD should be considered important and independent mortality risk factors in women.

Symptoms of depression and anxiety predict mortality in patients undergoing oral anticoagulation: Results from the thrombEVAL study program.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent in cardiovascular patients. Therefore, we examined whether the 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4, measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety) predicts all-cause mortality in outpatients with long-term oral anticoagulation (OAC). METHODS: The sample comprised n=1384 outpatients from a regular medical care setting receiving long-term OAC with vitamin K antagonists. At baseline, symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed with the PHQ-4 and the past medical history was taken. The outcome was all-cause mortality in the 24 month observation period. The median follow-up time was 13.3 months. RESULTS: N=191 patients from n=1384 died (death rate 13.8%). Each point increase in the PHQ-4 score was associated with a 10% increase in mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.05-1.16) after adjustment for age, sex, high school graduation, partnership, smoking, obesity, frailty according to the Barthel Index, Charlson Comorbidity Index and CHA2DS2-VASc score. The depression component (PHQ-2) increased mortality by 22% and anxiety (GAD-2) by 11% respectively. Neither medical history of any mental disorder, nor intake of antidepressants, anxiolytics or hypnotics predicted excess mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated symptoms of depression and, to a lesser degree, symptoms of anxiety are independently associated with all-cause mortality in OAC outpatients. The PHQ-4 questionnaire provides valuable prognostic information. These findings emphasize the need for implementing regular screening procedures and the development and evaluation of appropriate psychosocial treatment approaches for OAC patients.