The 5-Item Mental Health Index Predicts the Initial Diagnosis of Nonfatal Stroke in Older Women

Abstract

Poor mental health appears to be a risk factor for the self-reported new diagnosis of stroke in older women. The 5-item MHI may be a useful instrument for researchers investigating the relationship between psychosocial variables and stroke in older women and for clinicians who wish to identify those at risk for stroke.

Weight Gain, Overweight, and Obesity: Determinants and Health Outcomes from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health

“…Our work has also demonstrated associations between weight and the increased likelihood of developing foot problems [32], arthritis [16] and incontinence [33]. Overweight or 13 of 19 obese women were also more likely to report declining physical functioning [34,35] and linked data showed increased incidence of acute adverse health events, including hospital admissions [30] and stroke [35]. In the entire body of work on weight and health in this cohort of women, the only positive health outcome of high BMI was reduced risk of osteoporosis [28].…”

Maternal psychologic problems increased the risk of childhood atopic dermatitis

“…(iii) Did you feel worn out? (iv) Did you feel tired?’ The Mental Health Index, part of SF‐36, to assess self‐perceived MH has been shown to have adequate psychometric properties to identify depression and psychosocial diseases . It contains five questions: ‘How much of the time during the last month have you: (i) been a very nervous person?…”

Marital loss, mental health and the role of perceived social support: findings from six waves of an Australian population based panel study

“…The SF-36 is a self-completion measure of health status comprising 36 items that measure eight dimensions of functional health and well-being 29. The MHI-5 is a well-validated measure for common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression,30 and has been found to be a good predictor of clinical mental health problems, including psychiatric illness,31–33 and other health outcomes, such as stroke 34. Scale scores ranged from 0 to 100, with a lower score indicating higher levels of nervousness and depression and higher scores indicating that a person feels peaceful, happy and calm 29.…”