AUTHOR=Cooke Daniel L. , Shen Hui , Duvvuri Madhavi , Thompson Daniel , Neylan Thomas , Wolfe William , Hetts Steven , Ovbiagele Bruce , Whooley Mary , Cohen Beth 

TITLE=Association of select psychiatric disorders with incident brain aneurysm and subarachnoid hemorrhage among veterans

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 17 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/integrative-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnint.2023.1207610

DOI=10.3389/fnint.2023.1207610

ISSN=1662-5145

ABSTRACT=Background: Aneurysms represent a significant cause of hemorrhagic stroke. Prior research has demonstrated links between stress and stroke, including brain aneurysms. We aimed to determine relationships between select psychiatric disorders and aneurysms and aneurysmal SAH. 
Methods: We performed retrospective, case-control study of a National Veterans Affairs population with two experimental groups (aneurysm-only and aneurysmal SAH) and 10-fold controls per group matched by age, date, and clinical data source. The studied the presence of 4 psychiatric disorders: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and other mood disorders. Our main outcomes Unadjusted and multivariable adjusted ORs of PTSD, MDD, GAD, and mood disorders within aneurysm-only and aSAH groups.  
Results: In 6,320,789 Veterans who were enrolled for at least 5 years in Medicare and/or the Veterans Health Administration, we identified 35,094 cases of aneurysm without SAH and 5749 cases of aneurysm with SAH between 1/2005 and 12/2019. In analyses adjusted for sex, hypertension, and tobacco use, patients with aneurysm were more likely than matched controls to have a history of PTSD (OR 1.48), MDD (OR 1.33), GAD (OR 1.26), and other mood disorders (OR 1.34) (all p values <0.0001). Similarly, patients with aSAH were more likely than controls to have a history of PTSD (OR 1.35), MDD (OR 1.38), GAD (OR 1.18), and other mood disorders (OR 1.30) (all p values <0.0001).
Conclusions: The study suggests links between psychiatric disorders and stroke. This is important as patients with aneurysms are not routinely screened for such risk factors.