Vance MC, et al. - In a national primary prevention cohort including military veterans receiving care in the Department of Veterans Affairs, researchers examined the link between psychiatric diagnoses (psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder) and major cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CVD) outcomes (CVD events and CVD mortality) over 5 years. Both CVD events and CVD mortality were predicted by depression, psychosis, and bipolar disorder in men in the fully adjusted model. Both CVD events and CVD mortality were predicted by psychosis and bipolar disorder among women. Men demonstrated a link of anxiety with only CVD mortality, and a link between depression and only CVD events was identified in women. An increased risk of CVD outcomes was observed in relation to multiple mental illnesses, with the largest effect sizes displayed by more severe mental illnesses (eg, primary psychotic disorders), even after controlling for other psychiatric diagnoses, conventional CVD risk factors, and psychotropic medication use. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that chronic stress results in greater CVD risk.