Effect of depression on health behavior among myocardial infarction survivors in the United States

Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of depression on health behavior among myocardial infarction (MI) survivors. Methods This retrospective, cross-sectional study used publicly available 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. Our study sample includes adults aged 50 years or older who completed the 2015 BRFSS survey and reported having MI. The BRFSS participants with a yes response to the question, Has a doctor, nurse, or other health care professional ever told you that you had a heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction? were identified as MI survivors. The presence or absence of depression among MI survivors was identified using a similar question. Health behaviors, the dependent variable of this study, included physical activity, smoking status, alcohol use, body mass index, last flu immunization, last physical checkup, last blood cholesterol check, heavy drinking, and vegetable and fruit consumption. Univariate (χ2 tests) and multivariable (binomial logistic regression) analyses were used to assess the differences in health behaviors between MI survivors with or without depression. Results Our final study sample consists of 20 483 older adults with MI among whom 5343 (26.19%) reported having depression. Multivariable analyses reveal MI survivors with depression are more overweight, have less physical activity, and have higher likelihood of smoking but less odds of consuming alcohol compared to MI survivors without depression. Discussion In this nationally representative sample of adults aged over 50 years in the United States, MI survivors with depression exhibited poorer health behaviors compared to those without depression.