Depression in Heart Failure Patients and the Influence of Age, Gender and Severity of Depression on Heart Failure Patients

Depression is common in chronic medical illnesses including HF. It has been established that depression has different rates in different races and the reported depression rates among hospitalized patients range from 13% to 77%; nevertheless, there is remarkably little information on the prevalence of depression and the impact of demographic and health status in the north of IRAN. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression in hospitalized heart failure (HF) patients, as well as the impact of age, gender, and functional status on this group of patients. In this study, carried out in one heart center, a total of 196 hospitalized HF patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classes 2- 3 and 4 and an ejection fraction (EF) <40% were given questionnaires to assess depression. Depression was evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaire. Depression was defined as a score on the BDI of ≥17. A total of 23.5% of the patients scored as depressed. Men were more likely (33%) to be depressed than women and had a higher mean BDI score (p=0.004). Patients classified as NYHA functional class 3 were more likely to score as depressed than class 2 patients (p= 0.001), and patients with a higher BDI score had a lower EF (r=0.25, p=0.001). Depression is common in patients with HF. Men and patients with lower health status are more likely to be depressed. Pharmacologic or non- pharmacologic treatment of depression in HF patients should be considered.