Depressive disorders in angiographic-proven coronary artery disease: A Cross Sectional Study

Objective: Depressive disorders are a common and unrecognized entity in the patients of coronary artery disease (CAD). This study aimed at detecting the prevalence of depressive disorder in patients of angiographic proven CAD and to assess the correlation between depression and various coronary risk factors and clinical variables in patients of CAD. Materials and Methods: We did a prospective, observational study in patients of angiographic proven CAD attending cardiology outpatient department services in a tertiary care hospital. We studied patients in the age group of 25–80 years of CAD. A detailed history clinical evaluation was done, and the prevalence of depression was detected with the help of a questionnaire as per becks depression inventory. Results: A total of 150 patients were studied. Out of these, 113 (75.33%) were male and 37 (24.66%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 54.85 years. In the questionnaire-based screening for depression, 16.6% had normal score, 30% had mild mood disturbance, whereas 26% had borderline clinical depression and another 25.3% had moderate depression. A total of 03 patients (2%) had severe depression and none had extreme depression. Among the associations with depression, the presence of female sex, New York Heart Association class and educational status was shown to have significant association with depression in CAD patients. Conclusions: Our study shows a high prevalence of depression in patients of CAD. This generally goes unnoticed and untreated and can lead to poor quality of life and also increases mortality risk. Thus, the features of depressive disorder should be actively screened and treated in patients of CAD.