Key result
Cardiac patients exhibit an inverted U-shaped age trend for anxiety and depression, disproportionately affecting younger individuals.
Why the study?
Anxiety and depression are common in cardiac patients and the general population, but age-dependent differences between these groups require evaluation against norm values.
How do anxiety and depression symptoms vary by age in cardiac patients compared to the general population?
Cross-Sectional (n=4,733)
How do anxiety and depression symptoms vary by age in cardiac patients compared to the general population?
Young cardiac patients experience disproportionately high rates of anxiety and depression compared to older patients and the general population, highlighting a need for targeted psychological support.
Younger cardiac patients may warrant prioritized mental health assessment; leaves open causal mechanisms and intervention effects.
BACKGROUND: Anxiety and depression are often found in cardiac patients, but also in the general population. Therefore, evaluation of these symptoms in patients requires a comparison with norm values. The purpose of this study was to explore differences between cardiac patients and the general population in age dependency of anxiety and depression, and to discuss possible reasons for these differences. METHODS: A sample of German cardiac patients (n = 2,696) and a sample of the German general population (n = 2,037) were tested using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). RESULTS: While we confirmed a linear age trend of anxiety and depression in the general population, we observed an inverted U-shaped age dependency in the patient sample. Young patients are especially affected by anxiety and depression. Five items of the HADS that mainly contributed to the age differences were identified. Formal characteristics of these 5 items could not explain the age differences. Concerning the meaning of the items, however, most of the items refer to worrying about the future. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively low rates of anxiety and depression in older patients (compared with the general population) indicate that adaptation processes took place, which should be taken into account in studies concerning the psychological status of patients. Young patients need special attention when dealing with mental distress.
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Hinz et al. (2011) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiac disease (n=4,733). Cardiac disease status vs. General population was evaluated on Age dependency of anxiety and depression (HADS). Cardiac patients exhibited an inverted U-shaped age dependency for anxiety and depression, with younger patients especially affected, compared to a linear age trend in the general population.
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