Do patients with bipolar disorders have an increased risk of myocardial infarction? A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences Vol. 27; no. 24; p. 11786
• Main Authors: Jiang, C-Y, Zhu, X-Y, Wu, J-L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy 01.12.2023
• ISSN: 2284-0729
• DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202312_34777

Research shows that patients with bipolar disorders (BD) may have an altered risk of cardiovascular diseases; however, the association between the two is not clear. In this study, we reviewed evidence on the association between BD and subsequent risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Studies published on PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CENTRAL, and Web of Science were identified up to 30th August 2023. Random-effects meta-analysis was done to calculate the pooled odds ratio (OR). A total of six studies with 19,862,894 individuals were included. Of these, 46,627 were diagnosed with BD (0.23%). The median follow-up of the studies varied from 7.6 to 20 years. Meta-analysis of all six studies showed that BD patients do not have a higher risk of MI as compared to the general population (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.86). The overall analysis had substantial heterogeneity with I2=86%. No publication bias was noted among the studies. Results did not change during sensitivity analysis. Current evidence fails to show an association between BD and subsequent risk of MI. The high heterogeneity in the meta-analysis and lack of adjustment of all important confounders are significant limitations that need to be overcome by future studies.