Background: The present study measures the incidence of depression and anxiety disorder, which may be overlooked but which can lead to serious problems, among electively treated patients with coronary artery disease.
Methods: Beck Anxiety and Beck Depression scales were used to measure depression and anxiety levels among patients hospitalized due to coronary artery disease and who were electively treated. A Mann-Whitney U-test was used to analyze data related to gender, and Chi-Square and Kruskalis and Correlation tests were used to analyze age-related measures.
Results: Of the total 362 patients (246 m, 116 f) included in the study, 50.2 percent, 63.3 percent and 21.5 percent were found to have mild to moderate depression, mild anxiety disorder and moderate anxiety disorder, respectively. Age-based assessments indicated that younger patients were more inclined to develop depression and anxiety disorders, while no significant difference was noted between genders in terms of depression.
Conclusions: Anxiety disorders and depression can be easily overlooked, particularly when the mental health of patients is not assessed. However, depression increases the rates of both mortality and morbidity among patients with coronary artery disease. This secret enemy of coronary artery disease, which prolongs treatment and decreases the quality of life of the patient, is quite common among patients with heart disease. Accordingly, we believe that due to the potentially critical consequences, depression and anxiety disorder should be evaluated as part of the routine screening of patients with heart disease.
Key words: Coronary artery disease, Depression, Anxiety
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