Depression, antidepressants, and long-term mortality in heart failure

• Published in: International journal of cardiology Vol. 167; no. 4; pp. 1217 - 1225
• Main Authors: Diez-Quevedo, Crisanto, Lupón, Josep, González, Beatriz, Urrutia, Agustín, Cano, Lucía, Cabanes, Roser, Altimir, Salvador, Coll, Ramon, Pascual, Teresa, de Antonio, Marta, Bayes-Genis, Antoni
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 20-08-2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiovascular; Depression; Depression - drug therapy; Depression - mortality; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Heart; Heart failure; Heart Failure - drug therapy; Heart Failure - mortality; Heart failure, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, cardiac enlargement; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Mood disorders; Mortality; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prospective Studies; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Risk Factors; Survival Rate - trends; Time Factors; Heart failure; Depression; Antidepressants; Mortality; Mood disorder; Prognosis; Depressions; Psychotropic; Cardiovascular disease; Epidemiology; Long term; Heart disease; Antidepressant agent; Cardiology
• ISSN: 0167-5273; 1874-1754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2012.03.143

Abstract Background This study was designed to assess whether depression and the use of antidepressants were related to long-term mortality in heart failure. Methods Heart failure outpatients (n = 1017) from a specialized tertiary unit in Spain were prospectively studied for a median follow-up of 5.4 years (IQR 3.1–8.1). Depressive symptoms were assessed using an abbreviated version of the geriatric depression scale. Survival rates during the study period (August 2001 until December 2010) and hazard ratios (HR) for mortality were adjusted by several demographic and clinical variables. Results Depressive symptoms were detected in 302 patients (29.7%) at baseline and 222 (21.8%) de novo during follow-up; 304 patients (29.9%) received at least one prescription of antidepressants, mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (92.8%); 441 patients (43.4%) died. In a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model, depression was associated with an increased all-cause (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.15–1.68), but not cardiovascular, mortality risk after adjustment for several demographic and clinical confounders. The use of any antidepressant was not independently associated with mortality (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.71–1.13), but benzodiazepines showed a protective role (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.57–0.87). On the contrary, fluoxetine prescriptions, but not duration of fluoxetine treatment, were associated with increased mortality (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.13–2.44). Conclusions Depressive symptoms are associated with long-term mortality, but the use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines is safe regarding survival in HF patients, although further research is needed considering individual antidepressants separately.