Anxio-depressive Symptoms in Patients with Cardiac Failure in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH)

Background : Cardiac failure is a severe debilitating illness and a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in Nigeria. Diagnosis and subsequent management are often associated with psychological conditions. These impact on the patients' speed of recovery, cost of care as well as the quality of life. Identification, diagnosis and prompt treatment of these accompanying psychological conditions go a long way in reducing the cost of managing patients with cardiac failure. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients admitted for cardiac failure in JUTH between October 2007 and April 2008 and the associated sociodemographic variables. Study Design : A descriptive crosssectional study of patients admitted for cardiac failure in JUTH between October 2007 and April 2008. Consenting patients were administered Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and a short sociodemographic questionnaire. Other information was extracted from the patients' case-notes. Results : One hundred and twenty-eight patients, comprising those consenting, with complete data and strong enough to tolerate the interview, were analyzed. The study population was made up of 74 Females and 54 Males with a Mean Age of 47.4 (SD 18.3); Mean Age for females 45.5±18.8 and Males 50.0±17.3. More than 82% were married, 67.5% had some form of formal education, 61.3% had the illness diagnosed within a year while more than 54% were employed. Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety in the study population was 36.7% and 42.2% respectively. Significant association was found between depression and Marital status (pv=0.005) and the Educational level (pv=0.05) with a possible association with sex (p-v = 0.07). Though, similar trend was found with anxiety in the study population, the degree of association appeared more. The p-Values were Sex (0.01), Marital Status (0.02), and Educational level (0.03) Conclusion : Frequency of depressive and anxiety symptoms are high in patients with cardiac failure. Anxiety level seemed more in them. Prompt and adequate attention to anxiety and depression in this group of patients will not only improve their outcome but will go a long way in improving their quality of life.