Association between Mitral Valve Prolapse and panic disorders: A Population-based Retrospective Cohort Study in Taiwan

Background: Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a common valvular disease with a predominantly hereditary cause. Although most MVP patients do not exhibit symptoms, severe MVP can disrupt blood flow through the heart or even cause cardiac collapse. Panic disorder (PD) is a common mental sickness mainly characterized by spontaneity, and unexpected attacks of PD can induce great fear. MVP and panic disorder share some common symptoms, including palpitations, thoracalgia, tachypnoea, fatigue, dizziness, and lipothymia. However, from the 1980s till date, the relationship between MVP and PD as associated comorbidities has not been established or explicitly ruled out. Purpose: This study aimed to incorporate Taiwanese subjects to establish whether MVP and panic disorder are associated. Study method: This study included 18,193 patients with MVP and 694,149 non-MVP individuals from 2006 to 2010 in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database as the study subjects to examine the association between MVP and PD. Results: We found that MVP patients were more prone to PD than non-MVP patients, with an adjusted hazards ratio of 3.84 (95% confidence interval 3.52-4.19). As time progressed, the incidence of PD was way higher in patients with MVP than in the non-MVP individuals. Conclusions: Patients with MVP are prone to PD. Hence, when the patient is diagnosed with MVP, psychological support and recommendations should be provided.