[Depressive symptoms after an acute myocardial infarction].
BACKGROUND
Depression after myocardial infarction (MI) is a frequent disorder and it increases the long-term risk of cardiac mortality.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the frequency of depressive symptoms and the history of depression in hospitalized post-MI patients.


METHODS
During three months, depressive symptoms and history of depression were studied in 47 consecutive patients (mean age 59.8+/-9.5 years, 68% male), admitted for MI to the Barros Luco Trudeau Hospital. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 2.1) were used with DSM-IV diagnosis criteria.


RESULTS
According to the results obtained using the CIDI, 27,7% of the patients had a history of depression. This occurred in 53,3% of women and 15,6% of men (p <0.01). During the hospitalization, 38.3% of patients had depressive symptoms (BDI > or =17 points), affecting 60% of women and 28,1% of men (p <0.02). In women and patients with history of depression, depressive symptoms tended to be more common and more severe.


CONCLUSIONS
Depressive symptoms in post-MI patients are frequent and attending physicians should actively detect them.
Blümel
Bernardita
B
Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile. berniblumel@yahoo.es
Gibbons
Allister
A
Kanacri
Andrés
A
Kerrigan
Nicolás
N
Florenzano
Ramón
R
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index