Prevalence and risk factors for depression and anxiety in hospitalized cardiac patients in pakistan.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the prevalence and risk factors for depression and anxiety in hospitalized cardiac patients in Pakistan.


METHODS
All patients admitted to a cardiac unit of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan over a period of eight weeks were evaluated with clinical interview using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Quality of Life (QoL) scale.


RESULTS
One hundred patients entered the study. Sixty eight met the criteria for either major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or both. A total of 87.5 percent of the entire female sample met the criteria for either a depressive disorder, an anxiety disorder or both. Patients with higher scores on HADS anxiety subscale had longer duration of cardiac illness. Patients with depression and anxiety had poor quality of life on the four domains of QoL scale.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows high prevalence of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in cardiac patients in Pakistan. Being female, a housewife, and a widow are high risk factors for developing depression and/or anxiety in this population, requiring close monitoring.
Dogar
Imtiaz Ahmad
IA
Dr. Dogar is from the Department of Psychiatry, DHQ Hospital, Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Khawaja
Imran S
IS
Azeem
Muhammad Waqar
MW
Awan
Huma
H
Ayub
Afshan
A
Iqbal
Javed
J
Thuras
Paul
P