This is no scoop: stress and heart health don’t mix! But contrary to what one might think, stress is not calculated only in the moment, but over the whole life. Researchers from Orebro University in Sweden found a link between anxiety experienced in adolescence and the risk of heart attack in adulthood. Health – physical and psychological – must be maintained from an early age, they suggest.
Of course, researchers differentiate between the classic anxiety of young adults in the making: exams, heartaches, problems in high school … lasting anxiety, excruciating stress or signs of depression. This is what scientists insist: depression in late adolescence can have serious heart health consequences in the future. Ditto for an adolescence marked by too much stress, they stress.
An excess risk estimated at 20%
The medical records of no less than 238,013 men, born between 1952 and 1956, whose records have been scrutinized by researchers at the University of Orebro. The medical information had been collected when they were very young, at the time of military service (18/19 years). At that time, their psychiatric conditions had been evaluated, they had been the subject of a detailed psychological examination, but also physiological (family cardiac history, BMI, blood pressure …). They were then followed up to the age of 58, in order to have an overall view of their long-term health.
The results of this large study were presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. The conclusion ? Almost 35,000 cases were identified early as anxious or depressed. And by comparing with the other files, the scientists pointed out that these had had more heart problems in adulthood, including myocardial infarctions. The risk difference would be around 20% compared to men who did not suffer from anxiety in adolescence. To explain this, scientists argue that stress partly weakens physical condition, but mainly exposes to more people. addictions, such as tobacco, alcohol or other drugs.
Read also:
- Anxiety attack: 6 surprising symptoms
- 5 signs that you are suffering from anxiety
