Attaining and sustaining good mental health is just as vital as other factors, such as exercise and diet, in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, especially for women over the age of 45, according to a study by Emory University sociologist Corey Keyes published this month in the journal Aging and Mental Health. Using national survey data, Keyes' study examined the prevalence of mental health issues among people with cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. In investigating linkages between the two, Keyes used a measure of mental health as a "complete state" that looked beyond episodes of mental illness to also incorporate the subjective well-being of people, and how well they are functioning and flourishing in life.

The study found that cardiovascular disease was lowest in adults who were the most mentally healthy, and higher among adults with major depressive episodes, minor depression and moderate mental health. The relationship between cardiovascular disease and mental health was the same for age and sex, except for females between the ages of 45 and 74, where mental health issues under his "complete state" measure were much more prevalent.

Previous research has found major depression and stress to be contributing factors for, and a consequence of, cardiovascular disease, Keyes says. Although good mental health traditionally has meant the absence of mental illnesses like depression, health care professionals, in treating patients with cardiovascular disease, "should view and evaluate mental health as more than merely the absence of psychopathology, and look at the full picture of how their patients are coping and functioning in life," he says

Overall, only 17 percent fit the criteria for full mental health in the study. As a result, estimates of cardiovascular disease risk among adults with lower levels of positive mental health are likely to be inaccurate and possibly underestimated, he says.
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Contact: Beverly Cox Clark
bclark2@emory.edu
404-712-8780
Emory University Health Sciences Center
14-May-2004

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