No higher risk of myocardial infarction among bipolar patients in a 6-year follow-up of acute mood episodes

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to estimate the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) among bipolar disorder patients during a 6-year follow-up after acute mood episodes. The risk is compared with that of a cohort of patients who underwent appendectomy operations during the same period. METHODS: We used administrative claims data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database covering the years 1997-2002, with the two study cohorts comprising patients hospitalized for bipolar disorder (n = 1429) or appendectomies (n = 4993) in 1997. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to compare the crude odds ratio of patients in these cohorts developing AMI following the index discharge by gender. RESULTS: A total of 2.24% of the bipolar disorder patients developed AMI during the 6-year follow-up period, when compared with 1.72% of the appendectomy patients. The multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that there were no significant relationships between the patients in the two cohorts developing AMI, regardless of gender. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant differences in the risk of developing AMI between patients with bipolar disorder and patients undergoing appendectomy operations, when compared either by gender or as whole groups.