April 22, 2024 – Spouses of people that have had a stroke, heart attack or heart failure usually tend to suffer from depression than people whose spouses haven't had these health problems, a brand new study shows.
Published in JAMA network openedFor the study, researchers examined the medical records of 277,142 married couples enrolled within the Japan Health Insurance Association program between April 2015 and March 2022. Researchers compared the medical records of couples through which one spouse had suffered a stroke, heart failure or heart attack with a control group through which neither partner reported these health problems.
According to the study, 95 percent of those reporting cardiovascular events were male, and the typical age of the couples was about 58 years.
The researchers found that spouses of people that had heart problems had a 13 to 14 percent higher risk of depression than spouses of people that didn't have heart problems. Couples through which one partner had a stroke or heart failure had a better risk of depression than couples through which one had a heart attack.
If the cardiovascular event required hospitalization of the spouse, the chance of depression was only “slightly higher,” the study says.
“In this nationwide cohort study of matched couples, the onset of CVD (cardiovascular disease) in a spouse was associated with an increased risk of depression in that person,” the study concluded. “These findings underscore the importance of preventive treatment of mental disorders in individuals whose spouses have CVD.”
Spouses suffered from depression on account of lack of sleep, absenteeism from work, financial pressures and reduced physical activity. The study showed that “comprehensive mental health care is needed when spouses have cardiovascular disease.”