Do depression and anxiety at the time of myocardial infarction predict impaired quality of life 5 years later?
Depression assessed at the time of myocardial infarction is a significant predictor of long-term impairment in quality of life, highlighting the importance of psychological screening post-MI.
OBJECTIVE: To quantify the adverse influence of depression and anxiety assessed at the time of myocardial infarction, on the quality of life 5 years after the infarction. METHODS: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were completed in a group of 196 patients admitted in the hospital following non-fatal myocardial infarction, and the SF-12 quality of life questionnaire was administered during the 5- year follow-up. RESULTS: Regression analysis showed a strong association between baseline depression and QoL in both the physical and mental domains; the higher the depression scores, the poorer the QoL. However, anxiety present at the time of myocardial infarction did not predict later QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Depression but not anxiety following MI predicts longer-term quality of life in myocardial infarction survivors.
Hosseini et al. (Fri,) studied this question.