Last update:
07-Jul-2019

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of depression and to identify associated factors in patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).

METHOD The study sample consisted of 152 patients with HF who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiology of a tertiary hospital in Athens, Greece over a period of one year. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of three parts; socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, results of laboratory and diagnostic work-up retrieved from the hospital records, and the PHQ-9 scale.

RESULTS The prevalence of major depression (PHQ-9 score ≥10) was 34.2%. Among the factors examined, worse overall perceived health (OPH) (p<0.001) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class (p<0.001) were strongly associated with major depression. Age (p=0.015) was also associated with major depression, with the younger (<60 years) and the older (≥80 years) patients being more depressed. Sleep duration (p=0.028) was associated with major depression, with those sleeping <6 hours and >8 hours being more depressed. After stepwise logistic regression, OPH, NYHA class and age remained statistically significantly associated with major depression.

CONCLUSIONS Measures must be taken to identify, evaluate and manage depression in patients hospitalized with HF, the prevalence of which is particularly high in this population.

Key words: Depression, Heart failure, Hospitalized patients, PHQ-9.