Prevalence of Perceived Depressive Symptoms and Its Association With Stages of Heart Failure among Outpatients in a Public Hospital in Malaysia

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) patients with depression usually have poor prognosis. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of perceived depressive symptoms among outpatients with HF and its association with the New York Heart Association (NYHA) class. This was a cross-sectional survey conducted at the Heart Failure Clinic in Hospital Pulau Pinang (HPP) over 3 months period starting January 2020 using a convenience sampling method. All patients were included except patients under 18 years old, pregnant patients, diagnosed with psychiatric or depressive disorders and HF inpatients. A validated English and Malay version of Patient-Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used for screening of depressive symptoms. High scorers (≥ 10) were regarded as depressive. Results were reported in percentage (%) or median ± interquartile range (IQR). Fisher’s exact test with a 95% confidence interval was used. A total of 177 patients were recruited. The prevalence of perceived depressive symptoms among HF outpatients in HPP was 14.1%. The NYHA class was significantly associated with depressive status (p = 0.003). Depressive symptoms were common among these outpatients diagnosed with HF. A higher NYHA class suggested a higher depressive symptoms score. Screening for perceived depression especially patients with higher NYHA class was recommended.