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Minor Depression as a Short-Term Risk Factor in Outpatients With Congestive Heart Failure

Received May 23, 2007; revised August 28, 2007; accepted September 6, 2007. From The Dept. of Psychology and The Dept. of Cardiology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Send correspondence and reprint requests to Chiara Rafanelli, M.D., Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy; University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, Viale Berti Pichat, 5, 40121 Bologna, Italy. e-mail: chiara.rafanelli{at}unibo.it
© 2009 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine

BACKGROUND: In the past decade, there has been an increasing awareness of both quality-of-life impairment and the negative prognostic role of depression in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to evaluate distress, psychological well-being, and clinical and subclinical depression in 68 CHF outpatients at Bellaria Hospital in Bologna, Italy, at an initial assessment and at a 2-month routine follow-up visit. RESULTS: Patients reported a high prevalence of somatic complaints, depression, and demoralization, and low scores on psychological well-being. Among the variables examined as potential risk factors for cardiovascular outcome events, based on rehospitalization and cardiac death, only minor depression attained statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should thus assess minor depression among other psychological variables in these patients.

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