The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression subscale, but not the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Scale, identifies patients with acute coronary syndrome at elevated risk of 1-year mortality.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to investigate the use of short-form depression scales in assessing 1-year mortality risk in a national sample of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).


METHODS
Patients with ACS (N=598) completed either the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression subscale (HADS-D) or the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Scale (BDI-FS). Their mortality status was assessed at 1 year.


RESULTS
Cox proportional hazards modeling showed that patients depressed at baseline (combining HADS-D and BDI-FS depressed cases) were more likely to die within 1 year [hazard ratio (HR)=2.8, 95% CI=1.4-5.7, P=.005], even when controlling for major medical and demographic variables (HR=4.1, 95% CI=1.6-10.3, P=.003). Scoring above the threshold on the HADS-D predicted mortality (HR=4.2, 95% CI=1.8-10.0, P=.001), but scoring above the threshold on the BDI-FS did not (HR=1.8, 95% CI=0.6-5.6, P=.291).


CONCLUSIONS
The HADS-D predicted increased risk of 1-year mortality in patients with ACS.
Doyle
Frank
F
Department of Psychology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 120 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. fdoyle@rcsi.ie
McGee
Hannah M
HM
De La Harpe
Davida
D
Shelley
Emer
E
Conroy
Ronán
R
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors