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Published on: January 12, 2016

Cardiac history, prior depression and personality predict course of depressive symptoms after myocardial infarction

E J Martens1, O R F Smith, J Winter

  • 1CoRPS - Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Tilburg University, The Netherlands. e.j.martens@uvt.nl

Psychological Medicine
|September 18, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Depressive symptoms often persist after myocardial infarction (MI). Cardiac history, prior depression, and Type-D personality are key risk factors for persistent depression following MI.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Limited understanding of the evolution and predictors of depressive symptoms in the first year post-myocardial infarction (MI).
  • Previous research primarily focused on post-MI depression without detailing symptom trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the course of depressive symptoms during the first year after MI.
  • To identify predictors of these depressive symptom trajectories.

Main Methods:

  • Latent class analysis of Beck Depression Inventory scores from 287 MI patients at hospitalization, 2, and 12 months post-MI.
  • Multinomial logit regression to identify predictors, including Type-D personality and cardiac history.

Main Results:

  • Four distinct depressive symptom trajectories were identified: non-depressed (40%), mildly depressed (42%), moderately depressed (14%), and severely depressed (4%).
  • Depressive symptoms remained stable throughout the first year post-MI.
  • Cardiac history, history of depression, and Type-D personality were significant predictors of persistent depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

  • Depressive symptoms tend to persist in the first year following MI.
  • Cardiac history, prior depression, and Type-D personality are independent risk factors for chronic depressive symptoms.
  • Routine psychological screening post-MI is recommended to identify at-risk patients and mitigate negative prognostic effects.
Abstract

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