Association of depression, anxiety, and stress with myocardial infarction: A case–control study

Abstract

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI), the most common cardiovascular disease, has assumed an epidemic proportion today. Higher prevalence of MI is reported from India (a low-middle income country) with the state of Kerala topping the list. Limited data exist on the impact of psychosocial factors on MI in India. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 cases (with MI) and 100 controls (without MI and matched for age and gender) were selected using consecutive sampling from a tertiary hospital in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Data on depression, anxiety and stress were collected using the depression, anxiety and stress scales (DASS 21). Chi-square test was used to study the association of the variables under study with MI. Multivariate logistic regression was used to control for confounders. The unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 99% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Results: Depression (35% vs. 20%, P = 0.024), anxiety (41% vs. 14%, P < 0.001) and stress (36% vs. 15%, P = 0.002) had a statistically significant association with MI on comparing cases vs. controls. Higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress were associated with an increased risk of MI with OR of 2.790, 6.429, and 3.470, respectively. Conclusion: Depression, anxiety and stress were associated with MI. Prospective studies are required to confirm our findings.

Keywords

• Anxiety
• association
• depression
• myocardial infarction
• stress