Mental illnesses have increased by around 40 percent in 10 years - many are not aware of two countermeasures
Created: 06/14/2022, 09:40 am
By: Juliane Gutmann
Almost every fifth employee in Germany has at least one psychological risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, according to a result of the DAK Health Report 2022.
Heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of death in Germany.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 338,000 deaths were attributed to cardiovascular diseases in 2020.
The current DAK health report
"Psyche risk: How depression, anxiety and stress put a strain on the heart"
highlights, among other things, which groups are particularly at risk.
As part of the survey, the IGES Institute in Berlin evaluated the data of 2.45 million employed DAK insured persons, and around 7,100 employed women and men were also interviewed by the Forsa Institute.
One of the frightening results of the DAK report: extrapolated, 8.6 million employees have a mental risk of a heart attack, which corresponds to about every fifth employee.
According to the DAK, psychological risks include not only
mental illnesses such as depression but also work-related stress.
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Stress at work and mental illness endanger the heart
“Depression, anxiety and negative stress are already a great burden on their own.
But they also literally go to the heart!” explains Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK-Gesundheit.
According to Storm, a high risk can be observed particularly among employed people, as the health report would show.
According to the report, women are more at risk than men
: 22 percent of the female respondents stated that they suffered from enormous stress to the point of psychological problems.
Among men it was 16 percent.
Stress at work is a risk factor for heart disease that should not be underestimated.
© Eugenio Marongiu/Imago
According to the DAK, the interaction between mind and body is underestimated.
“
For one thing, people with mental illness are more likely to develop heart problems
.
On the other hand, we see a mental illness in many cardiovascular patients as a result," says Professor Christoph Herrmann-Lingen, head of the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine at the University Medical Center Göttingen, as quoted by DAK Gesundheit.
Not only mental illnesses that require treatment, such as anxiety disorders or depression, promote heart disease.
Stress at work can also affect the heart enormously
.
According to the DAK survey, nine percent of employees suffer from heart-threatening work stress.
Keeping the heart healthy through care and prevention
Not only a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and sufficient exercise, but also relaxation in everyday life is good for the heart.
So take breaks more often.
Medical check-ups should not be neglected either, because the earlier an ailment is detected, the better the prospect of successful therapy.
From the age of 35 you are entitled to a free health check
-up , which includes a blood test, among other things.
The free check-up is possible every three years.
But more than a third of the employees know nothing about this early detection measure, according to the DAK Gesundheit.
It goes on to say that only half of those surveyed would use the offer.
Prevention and health
courses ,
which are offered by many health insurance companies, are often not used.
Only about 60 percent of employees are informed about prevention courses, as the DAK health report shows.
(jg)
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