Outcomes of a tailored self-care intervention for patients with heart failure and major depression: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a recognized barrier to heart failure self-care, but there has been little research on interventions to improve heart failure self-care in depressed patients. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the outcomes of an individually tailored self-care intervention for patients with heart failure and major depression, and to determine whether the adequacy of self-care at baseline, the severity of depression or anxiety, or other factors affect the outcomes of this intervention. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from a pre-registered randomized controlled trial (NCT02997865). METHODS: Outpatients with heart failure and comorbid major depression (n = 139) were randomly assigned to cognitive behavior therapy or usual care for depression. In addition, an experienced cardiac nurse provided the tailored self-care intervention to all patients in both arms of the trial starting eight weeks after randomization. Weekly self-care intervention sessions were held between Weeks 8 and 16; the frequency was tapered to biweekly or monthly between Weeks 17 and 32. The Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (v6.2) was used to assess self-care outcomes, with scores ≥70 on each of its three scales (Maintenance, Management, and Confidence) being consistent with adequate self-care. The Week 16 Maintenance scale score was the primary outcome for this analysis. RESULTS: At baseline, 107 (77%) of the patients scored in the inadequate self-care range on the Maintenance scale. Between Weeks 8 and 16, Maintenance scores improved more in patients with initially inadequate than initially adequate self-care (11.9 vs. 3.2 points, p = .003). Sixty-six (48%) of the patients with initially inadequate Maintenance scores achieved scores in the adequate range by Week 32 (p < .0001). Covariate-adjusted predictors of better Maintenance outcomes included adequate Maintenance at baseline (p < .0001), higher anxiety at baseline (p < .05), and higher dosages of the self-care intervention (p < .0001). Neither treatment with cognitive behavior therapy nor less severe major depression predicted better self-care outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Depressed patients with inadequate heart failure self-care are able to achieve clinically significant improvements in self-care with the help of an individually tailored self-care intervention. Further refinement and testing are needed to increase the intervention's potential for clinical implementation.

Treatment of depression and inadequate self-care in patients with heart failure: One-year outcomes of a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Both depression and inadequate self-care are common in patients with heart failure. This secondary analysis examines the one-year outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of a sequential approach to treating these problems. METHODS: Patients with heart failure and major depression were randomly assigned to usual care (n = 70) or to cognitive behavior therapy (n = 69). All patients received a heart failure self-care intervention starting 8 weeks after randomization. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed at Weeks 8, 16, 32, and 52. Data on hospital admissions and deaths were also obtained. RESULTS: One year after randomization, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scores were - 4.9 (95% C.I., -8.9 to -0.9; p < .05) points lower in the cognitive therapy than the usual care arm, and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy scores were 8.3 (95% C.I., 1.9 to 14.7; p < .05) points higher. There were no differences on the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index or in hospitalizations or deaths. CONCLUSIONS: The superiority of cognitive behavior therapy relative to usual care for major depression in patients with heart failure persisted for at least one year. Cognitive behavior therapy did not increase patients' ability to benefit from a heart failure self-care intervention, but it did improve HF-related quality of life during the follow-up period. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02997865.

Symptoms that remain after depression treatment in patients with coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: Symptoms which commonly remain after treatment for major depression increase the risk of relapse and recurrence in medically well patients. The same symptoms predict major adverse cardiac events in observational studies of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of residual depression symptoms in depressed patients with CHD-. METHODS: Beck Depression Inventory-II data from two randomized clinical trials and an uncontrolled treatment study of depression in patients with CHD were combined to determine the prevalence and predictors of residual symptoms. RESULTS: Loss of energy, loss of pleasure, loss of interest, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating were the five most common residual symptoms in all three studies. They are also among the most common residual symptoms in medically well patients who are treated for depression. The severity of pre-treatment anxiety predicted the post-treatment persistence of all these symptoms except for loss of energy. CONCLUSIONS: The most common post-treatment residual symptoms found in this study of patients with coronary heart disease and comorbid major depression are the same as those that have been reported in previous studies of medically-well depressed patients. This suggests that they may be resistant to standard depression treatments across diverse patient populations. More effective treatments for these symptoms are needed.

Sequential Interventions for Major Depression and Heart Failure Self-Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Major depression and inadequate self-care are common in patients with heart failure (HF). Little is known about how to intervene when both problems are present. This study examined the efficacy of a sequential approach to treating these problems. METHODS: Stepped Care for Depression in HF was a single-site, single-blind, randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) versus usual care (UC) for major depression in patients with HF. The intensive phase of the CBT intervention lasted between 8 and 16 weeks, depending upon the rate of improvement in depression. All participants received a tailored HF self-care intervention that began 8 weeks after randomization. The intensive phase of the self-care intervention ended at 16 weeks post-randomization. The coprimary outcome measures were the Beck Depression Inventory (version 2) and the Maintenance scale of the Self-Care of HF Index (v6.2) at week 16. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-nine patients with HF and major depression were enrolled; 70 were randomized to UC and 69 to CBT. At week 16, the patients in the CBT arm scored 4.0 points ([95% CI, -7.3 to -0.8]; P=0.02) lower on the Beck Depression Inventory, version 2 than those in the usual care arm. Mean scores on the Self-Care of HF Index Maintenance scale were not significantly different between the groups ([95% CI, -6.5 to 1.5]; P=0.22). CONCLUSIONS: CBT is more effective than usual care for major depression in patients with HF. However, initiating CBT before starting a tailored HF self-care intervention does not increase the benefit of the self-care intervention. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov; Unique identifier: NCT02997865.

Influence of Neighborhood Conditions on Recurrent Hospital Readmissions in Patients with Heart Failure: A Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: This study examined how certain aspects of residential neighborhood conditions (ie, observed built environment, census-based area-level poverty, and perceived disorder) affect readmission in urban patients with heart failure. METHODS: A total of 400 patients with heart failure who were discharged alive from an urban-university teaching hospital were enrolled. Data were collected about readmissions during a 2-year follow-up. The impact of residential neighborhood conditions on readmissions was examined with adjustment for 7 blocks of covariates: 1) patient demographic characteristics; 2) comorbidities; 3) clinical characteristics; 4) depression; 5) perceived stress; 6) health behaviors; and 7) hospitalization characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 83.3% of participants were readmitted. Participants from high-poverty census tracts (≥20%) were at increased risk of readmission compared with those from census tracts with <10% poverty (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.53; 95% confidence interval: 1.03-2.27; P < .05) when adjusted for demographic characteristics. None of the built environmental or perceived neighborhood conditions were associated with the risk of readmission. The poverty-related risk of readmission was reduced to nonsignificance after including diabetes (HR: 1.33) and hypertension (HR: 1.35) in the models. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of high poverty is partly explained by high rates of hypertension and diabetes in these areas. Improving diabetes and blood pressure control or structural aspects of impoverished areas may help reduce hospital readmissions.

Depression and Hospital Readmissions in Patients with Heart Failure.

Depression increases the risk of mortality in patients with heart failure (HF). Less is known about whether depression predicts multiple readmissions or whether multiple hospitalizations worsen depression in patients with HF. This study aimed to test the hypotheses that depression predicts multiple readmissions in patients hospitalized with HF, and conversely that multiple readmissions predict persistent or worsening depression. All-cause readmissions were ascertained over a 2-year follow-up of a cohort of 400 patients hospitalized with HF. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to assess depression at index and 3-month intervals. At enrollment in the study, 21% of the patients were mildly depressed and 22% were severely depressed. Higher Patient Health Questionnaire-9 depression scores predicted a higher rate of readmissions (adjusted hazard ratio 1.02, 95% confidence interval 1.00 to 1.04, p = 0.03). The readmission rate was higher in those who were severely depressed than in those without depression (p = 0.0003), but it did not differ between patients who were mildly depressed and patients without depression. Multiple readmissions did not predict persistent or worsening depression, but younger patients in higher New York Heart Association classes were more depressed than other patients. Depression is an independent risk factor for multiple all-cause readmissions in patients hospitalized with HF. Severe depression is a treatable psychiatric co-morbidity that warrants ongoing clinical attention in patients with HF.

Psychosocial Syndemics and Multimorbidity in Patients with Heart Failure †.

Heart failure (HF) is a common cause of hospitalization and mortality in older adults. HF is almost always embedded within a larger pattern of multimorbidity, yet many studies exclude patients with complex psychiatric and medical comorbidities or cognitive impairment. This has left significant gaps in research on the problems and treatment of patients with HF. In addition, HF is only one of multiple challenges facing patients with multimorbidity, stressful socioeconomic circumstances, and psychosocial problems. The purpose of this study is to identify combinations of comorbidities and health disparities that may affect HF outcomes and require different mixtures of medical, psychological, and social services to address. The syndemics framework has yielded important insights into other disorders such as HIV/AIDS, but it has not been applied to the complex psychosocial problems of patients with HF. The multimorbidity framework is an alternative approach for investigating the effects of multiple comorbidities on health outcomes. The specific aims are: (1) to determine the coprevalence of psychiatric and medical comorbidities in patients with HF (n = 535); (2) to determine whether coprevalent comorbidities have synergistic effects on readmissions, mortality, self-care, and global health; (3) to identify vulnerable subpopulations of patients with HF who have high coprevalences of syndemic comorbidities; (4) to determine the extent to which syndemic comorbidities explain adverse HF outcomes in vulnerable subgroups of patients with HF; and (5) to determine the effects of multimorbidity on readmissions, mortality, self-care, and global health.

Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Depression in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether the severity of left ventricular systolic dysfunction is associated with depression in patients with heart failure (HF). Other factors were also studied to identify independent correlates of depression in HF. METHODS: The sample consisted of 400 hospitalized patients with HF. Left ventricular ejection fraction and other medical data were obtained from medical records. Depression and other psychosocial characteristics were assessed by an interview and questionnaires. Proportional odds models were used to test the relationships of these characteristics to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) depressive disorders, and analysis of covariance was used to test relationships with continuous measures of depression in secondary models. RESULTS: The models produced no evidence of an association between left ventricular ejection fraction and depression. The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) was 1.00 (0.98-1.01; p = .87) for depression diagnosis. Analysis of covariance estimates (standard errors) were -0.01 (0.02; p = .54) for the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and -0.01 (0.01; p = .59) for the Patient Health Questionnaire. The odds of depression were higher in African American patients and in those with high levels of anxiety or stress. Other characteristics that have been associated with depression in previous studies, including sex and age, were not consistently associated with depression in this study. CONCLUSIONS: There is no relationship between the severity of left ventricular systolic dysfunction and depression in hospitalized patients with HF. In contrast, African American patients and those with a high level of anxiety or perceived stress are more likely than other patients to have a comorbid depressive disorder.

Effects of Depression on Heart Failure Self-Care.

BACKGROUND: Depression has been identified as a barrier to effective heart failure self-care, but recent studies suggest that the relationship between depression and self-care is more complex than was previously believed. This study was designed to clarify the relationship between depression and self-care in hospitalized patients with HF. METHODS AND RESULTS: During hospitalization with a confirmed clinical diagnosis of HF, 400 patients completed a structured interview to diagnose Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5) depressive disorders, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression questionnaire, the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI), and several psychosocial questionnaires. Multivariable models were fitted to each SCHFI scale; separate models were run with DSM-5 disorders and PHQ-9 depression scores. Higher PHQ-9 depression scores were independently associated with lower (worse) scores on the SCHFI Maintenance (P < .05), Management (P < .01), and Confidence (P < .01) scales. No independent associations with DSM-5 depressive disorders were detected. Measures of perceived stress, anxiety, and low perceived social support were also significantly associated with poor HF self-care. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a combination of psychosocial problems, including symptoms of depression, stress, anxiety, and inadequate social support, may be more likely than other patients to display difficulties with HF self-care that can increase their risk for hospitalization. Research is needed on "broad-spectrum" psychosocial interventions for patients with HF self-care deficits.

Antidepressant use in patients with heart failure.

OBJECTIVE: There is little evidence that antidepressants are efficacious for depression in patients with heart failure (HF), and equivocal evidence that they are safe. This study identified characteristics that are associated with antidepressant use in hospitalized patients with HF. METHOD: Logistic regression models were used to identify independent correlates of antidepressant use in 400 patients hospitalized with HF between 2014 and 2016. The measure of depression in the primary analysis was a DSM-5 diagnosis based on a structured interview; this was replaced by a PHQ-9 depression score in a secondary analysis. RESULTS: In the primary analysis, there were positive associations between antidepressant use and white race, younger age, unemployment, non-ischemic HF, number of other prescribed medications, current minor depression, history of major depression, and functional impairment. In the secondary analysis, there were positive associations with white race, unemployment, number of other prescribed medications, and functional impairment; the effect of current severity of depression differed between patients with vs. without a history of major depression. CONCLUSIONS: Current depression is only one of several factors that influence the use of antidepressant medications in patients with HF. Further research is needed to ensure that these agents are being used appropriately in this patient population.

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Omega-3 and Sertraline in Depressed Patients With or at Risk for Coronary Heart Disease.

OBJECTIVE: Studies of depressed psychiatric patients have suggested that antidepressant efficacy can be increased by adding eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the addition of EPA improves the response to sertraline in depressed patients with or at high risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Between May 2014 and June 2018, 144 patients with DSM-5 major depressive disorder seen at the Washington University School of Medicine with or at high risk for CHD were randomized to receive either 50 mg/d of sertraline and 2 g/d of EPA or 50 mg/d of sertraline and corn oil placebo capsules for 10 weeks. The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) was the primary outcome measure. RESULTS: After 10 weeks of treatment, there were no differences between the arms on the mean baseline-adjusted BDI-II (placebo, 10.3; EPA, 12.1; P = .22), the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (placebo, 7.2; EPA, 8.0; P = .40), or the 10-week remission rate (BDI-II score ≤ 8: placebo, 50.6%; EPA, 46.7%; odds ratio = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.43 to 1.68; P = .63). CONCLUSIONS: Augmentation of sertraline with 2 g/d of EPA for 10 weeks did not result in greater improvement in depressive symptoms compared to sertraline and corn oil placebo in patients with major depressive disorder and CHD or CHD risk factors. Identifying the characteristics of cardiac patients whose depression may benefit from omega-3 and clarifying the pathways linking omega-3 to improvement in depression symptoms are important directions for future research. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02021669; FDA IND registration number: 121107.

Use of the PROMIS® Depression scale and the Beck Depression Inventory in patients with heart failure.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated agreement between the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS®) Depression scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in patients with heart failure and comorbid major depression. METHOD: The BDI-II and the computerized adaptive test version of the PROMIS® Depression scale were administered at baseline to 158 participants in a randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy for major depression in patients with heart failure. A crosswalk table (Choi, Schalet, Cook, & Cella, 2014) was used to transform the PROMIS® scores into "linked" BDI-II equivalent scores. Bland-Altman plots, histograms, and scatterplots were used to visualize the agreement between these scores at baseline and 6 months, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for each occasion to quantify the agreement. Treatment effects and change scores were also examined. RESULTS: The measures agreed moderately at baseline (ICC = 0.52, p < .0001) and strongly at 6 months (ICC = 0.77, p < .0001), but on average, the linked and observed BDI-II scores differed by 3.1 points at baseline (p < .0001) and -0.17 points at 6 months (p = .78). The discrepancies were considerably larger in many individual cases on both occasions. CONCLUSIONS: The PROMIS® Depression scale is likely to play an important role in research on depression in patients with heart failure, but for now, it should be used in addition to rather than instead of the BDI-II in studies in which the BDI-II would ordinarily be used. Additional research is needed to evaluate the validity and utility of the PROMIS® Depression scale in patients with heart failure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Moderators of Response to Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Major Depression in Patients With Heart Failure.

OBJECTIVE: Although cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is efficacious for major depression in patients with heart failure (HF), approximately half of patients do not remit after CBT. To identify treatment moderators that may help guide treatment allocation strategies and serve as new treatment targets, we performed a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Based on evidence of their prognostic relevance, we evaluated whether clinical and activity characteristics moderate the effects of CBT. METHODS: Participants were randomized to enhanced usual care (UC) alone or CBT plus enhanced UC. The single-blinded outcomes were 6-month changes in Beck Depression Inventory total scores and remission (defined as a Beck Depression Inventory ≤ 9). Actigraphy was used to assess daily physical activity patterns. We performed analyses to identify the specific activity and clinical moderators of the effects of CBT in 94 adults (mean age = 58, 49% female) with HF and major depressive disorder. RESULTS: Patients benefited more from CBT (versus UC) if they had the following: more medically severe HF (i.e., a higher New York Heart Association class or a lower left ventricular ejection fraction), more stable activity patterns, wider active periods, and later evening settling times. These individual moderator effects were small (|r| = 0.10-0.21), but combining the moderators yielded a medium moderator effect size (r = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.20-0.52). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that increasing the cross-daily stability of activity patterns, and prolonging the daily active period, might help increase the efficacy of CBT. Given moderating effects of HF severity measures, research is also needed to clarify and address factors in patients with less severe HF that diminish the efficacy of CBT. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01028625.

Residual Symptoms After Treatment for Depression in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease.

OBJECTIVE: Depression is associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). The risk may be reduced in patients who remit with adequate treatment, but few patients achieve complete remission. The purpose of this study was to identify the symptoms that persist despite aggressive treatment for depression in patients with CHD. METHODS: One hundred twenty-five patients with stable CHD who met the DSM-IV criteria for a moderate-to-severe major depressive episode completed treatment with cognitive behavior therapy, either alone or combined with an antidepressant, for up to 16 weeks. Depression symptoms were assessed at baseline and after 16 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: The M (SD) Beck Depression Inventory scores were 30.0 (8.6) at baseline and 8.3 (7.5) at 16 weeks. Seventy seven (61%) of the participants who completed treatment met remission criteria (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression ≤7) at 16 weeks. Loss of energy and fatigue were the most common posttreatment symptoms both in remitters (n = 44, 57%; n = 34, 44.2%) and nonremitters (n = 42, 87.5%; n = 35, 72.9%). These symptoms were not predicted by baseline depression severity, anxiety, demographic, or medical variables including inflammatory markers or cardiac functioning or by medical events during depression treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Fatigue and loss of energy often persist in patients with CHD even after otherwise successful treatment for major depression. These residual symptoms may increase the risks of relapse and mortality. Development of effective interventions for these persistent symptoms is a priority for future research.

The Techniques for Overcoming Depression Questionnaire: Mokken Scale Analysis, Reliability, and Concurrent Validity in Depressed Cardiac Patients.

OBJECTIVES: The Techniques for Overcoming Depression (TOD) questionnaire assesses the frequency with which patients being treated for depression use cognitive-behavioral techniques in daily life. This study examined its latent structure, reliability and concurrent validity in depressed cardiac patients. METHOD: The TOD was administered at the initial and final treatment sessions in three trials of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) (n = 260) for depression in cardiac patients. Mokken scaling was used to determine its dimensionality. RESULTS: The TOD is unidimensional in depressed cardiac patients, both at the initial evaluation (H = .46) and the end of treatment (H = .47). It is sensitive to change and the total score correlates with therapist ratings of the patient's socialization to CBT (r=.40, p<.05), homework adherence (r=0.36, p<0.05), and use of cognitive-behavioral techniques (r=.51, p<.01). TOD scores were associated with post-treatment depression scores in two of the trials (p<.01 in both analyses). CONCLUSIONS: The TOD is a unidimensional, reliable, valid, and clinically informative measure of self-reported use of cognitive-behavioral techniques for overcoming depression in cardiac patients. Studies of the TOD in other depressed patient populations are needed.

Clinical predictors of depression treatment outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) who respond to treatment for depression are at lower risk of mortality than are nonresponders. This study sought to determine whether variables that have been shown to predict both depression treatment outcomes in psychiatric patients and cardiac events in patients with CHD, also predict poor response to depression treatment in patients with CHD. METHODS: One hundred fifty-seven patients with stable CHD who met the DSM-IV criteria for a major depressive episode were treated with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for 16weeks, either alone or in combination with an antidepressant. RESULTS: The mean Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) score was 30.2±8.5 at baseline and 8.5±7.8 at 16weeks. Over 50% of the participants were in remission (HAM-D-17 score ≤7) at the end of treatment. Of the hypothesized predictors, severe depression at baseline (p=0.02), stressful life events during the first (p=0.03) and last (p<0.0001) 8weeks of treatment, and the completion of CBT homework assignments (p=0.001) predicted depression outcomes. History of prior episodes, anxiety symptoms, antidepressant therapy at study enrollment, and medical hospitalizations or emergency department visits during treatment did not predict treatment outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who are under considerable stress do not respond as well to evidence-based treatments for depression as do patients with less stress. If future studies support these findings, more work will be needed to better address stressful life events in patients who may otherwise remain at high risk for mortality and medical morbidity following depression treatment.

Collaborative care for depression symptoms in an outpatient cardiology setting: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary heart disease. Finding effective methods for identifying and treating depression in these patients is a high priority. The purpose of this study was to determine whether collaborative care (CC) for patients who screen positive for depression during an outpatient cardiology visit results in greater improvement in depression symptoms and better medical outcomes than seen in patients who screen positive for depression but receive only usual care (UC). METHODS: Two hundred-one patients seen in an outpatient cardiology clinic who screened positive for depression during an outpatient visit were randomized to receive either CC or UC. Recommendations for depression treatment and ongoing support and monitoring of depression symptoms were provided to CC patients and their primary care physicians (PCPs) for up to 6months. RESULTS: There were no differences between the arms in mean Beck Depression Inventory-II scores(CC, 15.9; UC, 17.4; p=.45) or in depression remission rates(CC, 32.5%; UC, 26.2%; p=0.34) after 6months, or in the number of hospitalizations after 12months (p=0.73). There were fewer deaths among the CC (1/100) than UC patients (8/101) (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: This trial did not show that CC produces better depression outcomes than UC. Screening led to a higher rate of depression treatment than was expected in the UC group, and delays in obtaining depression treatment from PCPs may have reduced treatment effectiveness for the CC patients. A different strategy for depression treatment following screening in outpatient cardiology services is needed.

Nighttime heart rate predicts response to depression treatment in patients with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) who do not respond to treatment for depression are at higher risk of mortality than are treatment responders. The purpose of this study was to determine whether elevated nighttime heart rate (HR) and low heart rate variability (HRV), both of which have been associated with depression and with cardiac events in patients with CHD, predict poor response to depression treatment in patients with CHD. METHODS: Patients with stable CHD and a current major depressive episode completed 24h ambulatory ECG monitoring and were then treated for up to 16 weeks with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), either alone or in combination with an antidepressant. Pre-treatment HR and HRV were calculated for 124 patients who had continuous ECG from early evening to mid-morning. RESULTS: Following treatment, 64 of the 124 patients (52%) met study criteria for remission (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score≤7). Prior to treatment, non-remitters had higher nighttime HR (p=0.03) and lower nighttime HRV (p=0.01) than did the remitters, even after adjusting for potential confounds. LIMITATIONS: Polysomnography would have provided information about objective sleep characteristics and sleep disorders. More CBT sessions and higher doses of antidepressants may have resulted in more participants in remission. CONCLUSIONS: High nighttime HR and low nighttime HRV predict a poor response to treatment of major depression in patients with stable CHD. These findings may help explain why patients with CHD who do not respond to treatment are at higher risk for mortality.

Major Depression and Long-Term Survival of Patients With Heart Failure.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have found that depression predicts all-cause mortality in heart failure (HF), but little is known about its effect on long-term survival. This study examined the effects of depression on long-term survival in patients with HF. METHODS: Patients hospitalized with HF (n = 662) at an urban academic medical center were enrolled in a prospective cohort study between January 1994 and July 1999. Depression was assessed on a structured interview during the index hospitalization and on quarterly interviews for 1 year after discharge. Patients were classified at index as having Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition major depressive disorder (n = 131), minor depression (n = 106), or no depression (n = 425). Clinical data and the National Death Index were used to identify date of death or last known contact through December 19, 2014, up to 20 years after the index hospitalization. The main outcome was time from enrollment to death from any cause. RESULTS: A total of 617 (94.1%) patients died during the follow-up period. Major depressive disorder was associated with higher all-cause mortality compared with no depression (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.64, 95% confidence interval = 1.27-2.11, p = .0001). This association was stronger than that of any of the established predictors of mortality that were included in the fully adjusted model. Patients with persistent or worsening depressive symptoms during the year after discharge were at greatest risk for death. The association between minor depression and survival was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Major depression is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in patients with HF. Its effect persists for many years after the diagnosis of depression.

Baseline blood levels of omega-3 and depression remission: a secondary analysis of data from a placebo-controlled trial of omega-3 supplements.

OBJECTIVE: Depression is associated with low red blood cell (RBC) levels of 2 omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), suggesting that omega-3 supplements might improve depression. However, clinical trials have produced mixed results. The purpose of this secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial was to determine whether baseline blood levels of omega-3, which are known to vary widely among individuals, predict depression outcomes. METHOD: The percentages of EPA, DHA, and the omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA) were measured in RBCs at baseline and posttreatment in 122 participants with DSM-IV major depression who were randomly assigned between May 2005 and December 2008 to receive either 50 mg/d of sertraline and a daily dosage of 930 mg EPA/750 mg DHA or sertraline plus placebo. Associations between baseline omega-3 RBC levels and remission of depression (17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score ≤ 7) were analyzed by treatment arm. RESULTS: Among participants in the omega-3 arm, baseline RBC levels of EPA + DHA (P = .002) and the EPA + DHA:AA ratio (P = .003) were significantly higher among those whose depression subsequently remitted compared with those whose depression did not remit. No associations were detected in the sertraline plus placebo arm. Baseline levels of EPA (P = .03) and the EPA + DHA:AA ratio (P = .04) moderated the relationship between treatment arm and depression outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: High baseline RBC levels of EPA and DHA and a high EPA + DHA:AA ratio predict favorable depression outcomes in patients receiving omega-3 supplements. Omega-3 supplementation may be an effective treatment for depression, but the requisite dosage and duration of treatment may depend on the patient's baseline level of omega-3 fatty acids. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00116857.