Abstract
Purpose: Heart failure (HF) is a major burden on patients and the healthcare system; since it is linked to poor functioning, reduced health-related quality of life (QoL), frequent hospitalizations, and high healthcare expenses. Even with advancements in treatment, mortality is still high; 50% of HF patients pass away within the first five years of their diagnosis. Patients with HF frequently suffer from psychiatric disorders, and previous research indicates that these conditions have a detrimental impact on these patients cardiovascular and general health. The most prevalent mental health conditions are depression and anxiety disorders like panic disorder, PTSD, and generalized anxiety disorder. This cross sectional study aimed to investigate the rate and determinants of depression among HF patients in Oman.
Method: A convenient sampling method was used to recruit HF patients. A total of 180 patients were included in this study. A self-administered questionnaire using the PHQ-9 was used in this study. PHQ-9 is a multipurpose instrument for screening, diagnosing, and monitoring the severity of depression. there are a total of 9 questions and each question is scored as follows; 0=not at all, +1 several days, +2= more than half the days and +3=nearly every day. The scoring of PHQ-9 is 0-4 is none to minimal, 5-9 is mild depression, 10-14 is moderate depression, 15-19 is moderately severe, and 20-27 is severe depression. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of depression with demographic and clinical variables.
Results: The mean depression score in this sample was moderate to moderately severe (Mean 10, SD 6.03). Most of the patients indicated feeling tired or having little energy (60%)in the PHQ-9. Perception of General Health, Alcohol consumption and Exercise were the three determinants of depression among HF patients. That is; those who perceive their overall health as good have less depression (B= -3.452, P < .001). Those who do not exercise have a high level of depression compared to those who do exercise (B= 2.941, P < .05). Interestingly, those who drink alcohol have lower depression compared to those who do not drink alcohol (B=-3.259, P < .01). This could be explained by the social desirability response and use of self reported questionnaire.
Conclusion: Depression in HF patients is common, underrecognized and is connected to unfavorable results. It is essential to conduct more research to enhance diagnosis and create efficient treatments for depression in HF patients. This study found that exercise and overall health may reduce depression among HF patients and therefore interventions targeted towards better physical health is needed in this population.
Notes
References:
Sbolli, M., Fiuzat, M., Cani, D., & O’Connor, C. M. (2020, May 29). Depression and heart failure: the lonely comorbidity. European Journal of Heart Failure, 22(11), 2007–2017. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejhf.1865
Foldes-Busque, G., Dionne, C. E., Turcotte, S., Tully, P. J., Tremblay, M. A., Poirier, P., & Denis, I. (2021, January 12). Epidemiology and prognostic implications of panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in patients with coronary artery disease: rationale and design for a longitudinal cohort study. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-021-01848-3
Jha, M. K., Qamar, A., Vaduganathan, M., Charney, D. S., & Murrough, J. W. (2019, April). Screening and Management of Depression in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 73(14), 1827–1845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2019.01.041
Gold, S. M., Köhler-Forsberg, O., Moss-Morris, R., Mehnert, A., Miranda, J. J., Bullinger, M., Steptoe, A., Whooley, M. A., & Otte, C. (2020, August 20). Comorbid depression in medical diseases. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-020-0200-2
Harshfield, E. L., Pennells, L., Schwartz, J. E., Willeit, P., Kaptoge, S., Bell, S., Shaffer, J. A., Bolton, T., Spackman, S., Wassertheil-Smoller, S., Kee, F., Amouyel, P., Shea, S. J., Kuller, L. H., Kauhanen, J., van Zutphen, E. M., Blazer, D. G., Krumholz, H., Nietert, P. J., . . . Davidson, K. W. (2020, December 15). Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Incident Cardiovascular Diseases. JAMA, 324(23), 2396. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.23068
Sigma Membership
Alpha Beta Delta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Cross-Sectional
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Heart Failure, Mental Depression, Cardiovascular Diseases, Oman
Recommended Citation
Yesodharan, Divya Kuzhivilayil and Alharrasi, Maryam, "Rate and Determinants of Depression in a Cardiovascular Disease Sample" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 6.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2024/presentations_2024/6
Conference Name
35th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Singapore
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-11-03
Rate and Determinants of Depression in a Cardiovascular Disease Sample
Singapore
Purpose: Heart failure (HF) is a major burden on patients and the healthcare system; since it is linked to poor functioning, reduced health-related quality of life (QoL), frequent hospitalizations, and high healthcare expenses. Even with advancements in treatment, mortality is still high; 50% of HF patients pass away within the first five years of their diagnosis. Patients with HF frequently suffer from psychiatric disorders, and previous research indicates that these conditions have a detrimental impact on these patients cardiovascular and general health. The most prevalent mental health conditions are depression and anxiety disorders like panic disorder, PTSD, and generalized anxiety disorder. This cross sectional study aimed to investigate the rate and determinants of depression among HF patients in Oman.
Method: A convenient sampling method was used to recruit HF patients. A total of 180 patients were included in this study. A self-administered questionnaire using the PHQ-9 was used in this study. PHQ-9 is a multipurpose instrument for screening, diagnosing, and monitoring the severity of depression. there are a total of 9 questions and each question is scored as follows; 0=not at all, +1 several days, +2= more than half the days and +3=nearly every day. The scoring of PHQ-9 is 0-4 is none to minimal, 5-9 is mild depression, 10-14 is moderate depression, 15-19 is moderately severe, and 20-27 is severe depression. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of depression with demographic and clinical variables.
Results: The mean depression score in this sample was moderate to moderately severe (Mean 10, SD 6.03). Most of the patients indicated feeling tired or having little energy (60%)in the PHQ-9. Perception of General Health, Alcohol consumption and Exercise were the three determinants of depression among HF patients. That is; those who perceive their overall health as good have less depression (B= -3.452, P < .001). Those who do not exercise have a high level of depression compared to those who do exercise (B= 2.941, P < .05). Interestingly, those who drink alcohol have lower depression compared to those who do not drink alcohol (B=-3.259, P < .01). This could be explained by the social desirability response and use of self reported questionnaire.
Conclusion: Depression in HF patients is common, underrecognized and is connected to unfavorable results. It is essential to conduct more research to enhance diagnosis and create efficient treatments for depression in HF patients. This study found that exercise and overall health may reduce depression among HF patients and therefore interventions targeted towards better physical health is needed in this population.
Description
A cross-sectional survey was done to investigate the rate and determinants of depression among heart failure patients in Oman. A self-administered questionnaire; PHQ-9 among 180 sample revealed that they had a moderate to severe depression. Perception of general health, alcohol consumption and exercise were the determinants of depression.