Association Between Age at Diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease and Incident Depression and Anxiety

ABSTRACT Background Whether younger age at diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) is associated with a higher risk of incident depression and anxiety or not remains unexamined. This study aimed to explore the association between age at diagnosis of CHD and incident depression and anxiety. Methods Data were from the UK Biobank. Information on the diagnosis of CHD, depression, and anxiety was collected at baseline and follow‐ups. Cox proportional hazards models and the propensity score matching method were applied. Results A total of 438,376 adults were included, of which 49,620 had CHD (median follow‐up: 13.8 years). Compared with participants without CHD, participants with CHD were at an increased risk of incident depression and anxiety. Younger age at diagnosis of CHD (per 10‐year decrement) was associated with a higher risk of depression (HR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.65–1.82, p < 0.001) and anxiety (HR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.57–1.74, p < 0.001). In propensity score matching analysis, CHD patients were at a higher risk of depression and anxiety than matched controls without CHD among all diagnosis age groups, and the HRs gradually elevated with descending age at CHD diagnosis. Conclusions Individuals diagnosed with CHD at a younger age were at an elevated risk of incident depression and anxiety than individuals diagnosed at an older age, underscoring the necessity to pay attention to their mental health and conduct timely interventions to attenuate the subsequent risk of depression and anxiety.