RESEARCH ARTICLE Healthcare Contacts after Myocardial Infarction According to Mental Health and Socioeconomic Position: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Objective To examine the long-term use of healthcare contacts to general practice (GP) and hospital after a first-time myocardial infarction (MI) according to mental health and socioeconomic position. Methods Population-based cohort study of all patients discharged with first-time MI in the Central Denmark Region in 2009 (n=908) using questionnaires and nationwide registers. We esti-mated adjusted incidence rates and incidence rate ratios (IRR) for GP and hospital contacts according to depressive and anxiety symptoms, educational level and cohabitation status. Results During the 24-month period after the MI, patients with anxiety symptoms had 24%more GP contacts (adjusted IRR 1.24, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.12–1.36) than patients with no anxiety symptoms. In contrast, patients with depressive symptoms (1.05, 0.94–1.16) and with short and medium education (<10 years: 0.96, 0.84–1.08; 10–12 years: 0.91, 0.80– 1.03) and patients living alone (0.95, 0.87–1.04) had the same number of GP contacts as their counterparts (patients with no depressive symptoms, with long education [>12 years] and patients living with a partner). During the first 6 months after the MI, patients living alone had 13 % fewer hospital contacts (0.87, 0.77–0.99), patients with short education had 16% fewer hospital contacts (<10 years: 0.84, 0.72–0.98) and patients with anxiety symptoms had 27 % fewer hospital contacts (0.73, 0.62–0.86) than their counterparts. In contrast, patients with depressive symptoms (0.92, 0.77–1.10) and medium education (10–12 years: 1.05, 0.91–1.22) had the same number of hospital contacts as their counterparts