Risk for cardiovascular conditions increased with anorexia nervosa diagnosis

Patients with an anorexia nervosa (AN) diagnosis have an increased risk for cardiovascular conditions, according to a study published online Dec. 19 in JAMA Network Open.

Mei-Chih Meg Tseng, M.D., Ph.D., from Taipei Medical University in Taiwan, and colleagues examined the trajectories of cardiovascular condition risk in a nationwide cohort of patients with AN in Taiwan. Patients with AN and controls were identified through propensity score matching at a 1:10 ratio; the study population included 2,081 patients and 20,810 controls.

The researchers found that 4.8 and 0.8% of patients with AN and controls, respectively, had a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) and 6.0 versus 2.3% had any cardiovascular condition. The cumulative incidence rates of MACE and any cardiovascular condition were 4.82 and 6.19%, respectively, at the five-year follow-up.

The AN group had significantly higher risks for MACE and any cardiovascular condition compared with the control group (adjusted hazard ratios, 3.78 and 1.93, respectively). In the initial follow-up period, there were significantly increased risks for congenital heart failure, conduction disorder, and structural heart disease, which disappeared after 60 months of follow-up. The risk for ischemic heart disease was only increased after 60 months of follow-up (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.01).

“Clinicians should monitor comorbid cardiovascular conditions in patients with AN in different stages of treatment,” the authors write. “The underlying mechanisms for the intermediate-term outcome of ischemic heart disease warrant further investigation.”

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.