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Published on: June 10, 2025
Depression predicts failure to complete phase-II cardiac rehabilitation
Elizabeth Casey1, Joel W Hughes, Donna Waechter
1Department of Psychology, Kent State University, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
Insights
Depression significantly reduces cardiac rehabilitation completion rates. Interventions promoting treatment adherence may improve outcomes for depressed cardiac patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychiatry
- Behavioral Medicine
Background:
- Depression is linked to higher mortality in cardiac patients.
- Cardiac rehabilitation is a crucial component of cardiac patient care.
- Adherence to medical treatment is often reduced in depressed individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether depressive symptomology predicts non-completion of cardiac rehabilitation.
- To identify factors associated with non-completion of cardiac rehabilitation.
Main Methods:
- A logistic regression analysis was performed on data from 600 cardiac patients.
- Depressive symptomology was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
- Covariates included age, gender, body mass index, and employment status.
Main Results:
- Patients with elevated depressive symptomology (BDI scores ≥ 10) were 2.2 times less likely to complete a 12-week phase II cardiac rehabilitation program.
- Somatic symptoms predicted non-completion due to medical reasons.
- Younger age predicted non-completion due to non-medical reasons.
Conclusions:
- Elevated depressive symptomology is a significant predictor of cardiac rehabilitation non-completion.
- Targeting behavioral change to improve treatment adherence may complement direct depression treatment for better cardiac patient outcomes.
Abstract:
Reduced adherence to medical treatment regimens may help to explain the higher risk of mortality among depressed cardiac patients. Participation in cardiac rehabilitation is a highly recommended part of the medical treatment regimen for cardiac patients. This study examined if elevated depressive symptomology, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), predicted failure to complete a 12-week phase II cardiac rehabilitation program for 600 patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that patients with elevated levels of depressive symptomology (BDI scores > or = 10) were 2.2 times less likely to complete cardiac rehabilitation compared to patients without depression (BDI < 10), after controlling for age, gender, body mass index, and employment. Somatic symptoms predicted non-completion due to medical reasons, whereas younger age predicted failure to complete cardiac rehabilitation due to non-medical reasons. Given the difficulty of reducing mortality by treating depression directly, interventions targeting behavior change to improve medical treatment adherence might be an effective complementary strategy.
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