Cardiac Disease, Depression, and Suicide Risk by Age

Abstract

Abstract. Cardiovascular disease is associated with depression and suicide risk, although there is only limited research available on whether these associations differ by age. This short report examined age differences in associations between cardiovascular disease, depression, and suicide risk. The sample consisted of 301 younger adults (aged 18–40 years) and 432 older adults (aged 60+ years) recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The results show that older adults had more cardiovascular diagnoses, whereas younger adults with cardiovascular diagnoses had more depression symptomatology and suicide risk. Associations between cardiovascular disease (one or more diagnoses vs. no diagnoses) and mental health were moderated by age ( p < .05 for Age × Cardiovascular interaction predicting depression and predicting suicide risk). The findings highlight the importance of assessing and addressing mental-health concerns among cardiovascular patients, especially in younger demographics.