Association of Bipolar Disorder with Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events: A Population-Based Historical Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE To assess the association of bipolar disorder (BD) with risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after adjusting for established cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a population-based historical cohort study using the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Patients aged >30 with a clinical encounter from 1998-2000 with no prior MACE, atrial fibrillation, or heart failure, were followed through March 1, 2016. BD diagnosis was validated by chart review. Cox proportional hazards regression models were adjusted for established CVD risk factors, alcohol use disorder (AUD), other substance use disorders (SUD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). RESULTS The cohort included 288 individuals with BD (0.81%) and 35,326 individuals without BD as the reference group (Ref). Median (IQR) follow-up was 16.5 (14.6-17.5) years. 5636 MACE events occurred (BD: 59, Ref: 5577). Survival analysis showed an association between BD and MACE (median event-free-survival rates BD: 0.80, Ref: 0.86; log-rank P = .018). Multivariate regression adjusting for age and sex also yielded an association between BD and MACE (HR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.43-2.52; P < .001). The association remained significant after further adjusting for smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, HDL cholesterol, and body mass index (HR: 1.66; 95% CI 1.17-2.28; P = .006), and for AUD, SUD, and MDD (HR: 1.56; 95% CI 1.09-2.14; P = .010). CONCLUSION In this study, BD was associated with an increased risk of MACE which persisted after adjusting for established CVD risk factors, SUDs, and MDD. These results suggest that BD is an independent risk factor for major clinical cardiac disease outcomes.