title: Depression and anxiety predict decline in physical health functioning in patients with heart failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have examined the prospective influences of depression and anxiety on physical health functioning in heart failure (HF) patients. Prior studies were also limited by employing psychological measures containing somatic items confounded with HF symptoms.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study examined whether depression, anxiety, social support, and their changes predicted the decline of physical functioning in HF patients over 6 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 238 HF patients among whom 164 provided follow-up data. The depression and anxiety measures did not contain somatic items.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for baseline physical functioning and demographic and medical covariates, baseline depression and its increase, as well as baseline anxiety and its increase, independently predicted greater decline in physical functioning at 6 months. Social support and its change were not associated with either concurrent or follow-up physical functioning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Depression, anxiety, and their changes independently predicted the decline of physical health functioning over 6 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-1061, USA. bjshen@usc.edu
authors.forename: Biing-Jiun
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Stacy A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Kristin A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Farrell
authors.forename: Ernst R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Penedo
authors.forename: Eugene J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bauerlein
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mallon
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support