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Levels of anxiety and depression as predictors of mortality following myocardial infarction: A 5-year follow-up
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Abstract
Background: Post-myocardial infarction (MI) depression is a highly prevalent disorder, affecting nearly 18% of all MI patients, and it is a major predictor of disability in the year post-MI. We sought to expand this analysis by: comparing case-level anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression as predictors of long term mortality during a 5-year follow-up period after MI; and investigating the role of potential modifying and confounding factors.
Methods: A total of 285 patients were screened on average 6 days after their MI and a 5-year survival rate was ascertained. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were completed by patients hospitalized for MI. In addition we tested the BDI × STAI interaction effect.
Results: During the 5 years of follow-up, cardiac mortality was assessed in 274 of 285 eligible patients. Of the 274 patients whose survival data were available, 91 (33.2%) died. At entry, BDI score of 192 (67.4%) patients was ≥ 10 and 145 (50.9%) patients had STAI score ≥ 40. Anxiety was not associated with mortality, whereas depression significantly predicted death, but this association was attenuated to non-significance with full adjustment with disease severity and confounders.
Conclusions: Depression following MI does not predict longer-term survival with full adjustment.
Abstract
Background: Post-myocardial infarction (MI) depression is a highly prevalent disorder, affecting nearly 18% of all MI patients, and it is a major predictor of disability in the year post-MI. We sought to expand this analysis by: comparing case-level anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depression as predictors of long term mortality during a 5-year follow-up period after MI; and investigating the role of potential modifying and confounding factors.
Methods: A total of 285 patients were screened on average 6 days after their MI and a 5-year survival rate was ascertained. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were completed by patients hospitalized for MI. In addition we tested the BDI × STAI interaction effect.
Results: During the 5 years of follow-up, cardiac mortality was assessed in 274 of 285 eligible patients. Of the 274 patients whose survival data were available, 91 (33.2%) died. At entry, BDI score of 192 (67.4%) patients was ≥ 10 and 145 (50.9%) patients had STAI score ≥ 40. Anxiety was not associated with mortality, whereas depression significantly predicted death, but this association was attenuated to non-significance with full adjustment with disease severity and confounders.
Conclusions: Depression following MI does not predict longer-term survival with full adjustment.
Keywords
depression, anxiety, myocardial infarction, mortality


Title
Levels of anxiety and depression as predictors of mortality following myocardial infarction: A 5-year follow-up
Journal
Issue
Pages
370-377
Published online
2014-08-29
Page views
2843
Article views/downloads
2610
DOI
10.5603/CJ.a2014.0023
Bibliographic record
Cardiol J 2014;21(4):370-377.
Keywords
depression
anxiety
myocardial infarction
mortality
Authors
Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini
Ali Ghaemian
Elaheh Mehdizadeh
Haleh Ashraf