More severe depressive symptoms were significantly associated with lower self-reported functional capacity in patients with chronic cardiovascular disease (r = -0.31; p = 0.01).
Cross-Sectional (n=65)
More severe depressive symptoms are associated with lower self-reported functional capacity in patients with chronic cardiovascular disease.
Effect estimate: r = -0.31
p-value: p=0.01
Abstract Introduction Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in individuals with cardiovascular disease and are associated with poorer prognosis, reduced treatment adherence and diminished functional capacity. Therefore, systematic assessment of psychological status should form part of routine clinical care and cardiac rehabilitation programmes. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is widely used to quantify depressive symptoms, while cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) represents the gold standard for evaluating cardiorespiratory performance. The Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) is a validated measure of self-reported functional capacity. Understanding how depressive symptoms relate to objective and subjective measures of physical performance may clarify the influence of psychosocial factors on exercise tolerance in patients with chronic cardiovascular disease. Objective To examine the correlation between BDI scores and both peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) and DASI scores in adults with chronic cardiovascular disease. Methods This cross-sectional study, approved by the institutional ethics committee, included patients with chronic cardiovascular conditions, including heart failure with reduced or preserved ejection fraction as well as cardiac transplant recipients. Clinical, anthropometric, and functional data were collected, including age, body mass index (BMI), VO2peak measured by CPET, DASI score, and total BDI score. Descriptive statistics are presented as mean ± standard deviation, and associations were analysed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. A significance level of p 0.05 was adopted. Results Sixty-five patients were included (mean age 53.63 ± 8.27 years; BMI 27.32 ± 4.83 kg/m²). Mean VO2peak was 21.04 ± 5.12 ml·kg−¹·min−¹, mean DASI score 27.89 ± 12.82, and mean BDI score 11.6 ± 8.42. A positive correlation was observed between DASI and VO2peak (r = 0.39; p 0.01), indicating that patients who report higher functional capacity also demonstrate better cardiorespiratory performance. A negative correlation was observed between BDI and DASI (r = –0.31; p = 0.01), suggesting that more severe depressive symptomatology are associated with lower self-reported functional capacity. Conclusion Depressive symptoms are associated with reduced functional capacity in patients with chronic cardiovascular disease. Incorporating psychological assessment, including tools such as the BDI, may support early identification of emotional barriers to exercise tolerance and inform more effective rehabilitation strategies. The DASI also proves to be a useful instrument for estimating functional capacity when CPET is not available.
Amaral et al. (Mon,) conducted a cross-sectional in chronic cardiovascular disease (n=65). Depressive symptoms was evaluated on Correlation between Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores and Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) scores (r = -0.31, p=0.01). More severe depressive symptoms were significantly associated with lower self-reported functional capacity in patients with chronic cardiovascular disease (r = -0.31; p = 0.01).
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