Depression and Anxiety in Heart Failure Patients in a South Indian Population: A Pilot Study

Aim: To evaluate prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in patientswith heart failure in Indian population and analyse their possible predictorsand risk factors.Methods and Material: Patients with heart failure hospitalized in tertiarycare centre between January 2011 to July 2011 were included in the study.Patients were given self-administered questionnaires viz. Zung Self-RatingDepression Scale and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety scale for depression andanxiety assessment during hospitalization. Demographic data and physicalhistory of patients were collected.Statistical analysis: Data obtained were assessed using one-way analysis ofvariance or Student’s t-test wherever appropriate.Results: Of a total of 82 patients, 63 returned the questionnaires. Mean ageof participants was 61 years. Mean depression and anxiety scores were 56.9 ±1.48 and 54.5 ± 1.59 respectively. Depression was common in patients withclass II and III heart failure, patients with multiple comorbid conditions andthose with previous history of stroke or MI (p<0.05). Depression was found tobe significant in patients who were on adjuvant beta blockers and statins(p<0.05) compared to patients on other medications. The main predictors ofanxiety were presence of comorbidities and severity of disease.Conclusion: NYHA class II and III, advancing age, presence of comorbiditiesand previous history of MI showed a strong positive association withdepression and anxiety scores. Patients on beta blockers and statins werereported to have higher levels of depression. Early diagnosis of mooddisorders may aid in long-term management and better quality of life in heartfailure patients.