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Emotional and behavioral problems in children with dilated cardiomyopathy

Malindi van der Mheen1, Marijke H van der Meulen2, Susanna L den Boer2

  • 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC - Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
|September 26, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) aged 6 and older experience more anxiety and depressive problems. Somatic complaints were common in all age groups, but no link to mortality or transplantation was found.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Child Psychology
  • Clinical Medicine

Background:

  • Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in children is a significant cause of heart failure with a poor prognosis.
  • Adults with heart failure have higher rates of anxiety and depression, which predict adverse outcomes.
  • Research on these associations in pediatric DCM is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if children with DCM exhibit increased emotional and behavioral problems compared to normative data.
  • To investigate the association between depressive and anxiety problems and the combined risk of death or cardiac transplantation in pediatric DCM.

Main Methods:

  • Parents of 68 children (aged 1.5-18 years) with DCM completed the Child Behavior Checklist.
  • Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using parent-reported data.
  • Outcomes analyzed included death and cardiac transplantation.

Main Results:

  • Children aged 6-18 with DCM showed significantly higher rates of internalizing problems, including depression and anxiety, compared to norms.
  • Somatic complaints were more prevalent in both younger (1.5-5 years) and older children with DCM.
  • Depressive and anxiety symptoms did not predict the risk of death or cardiac transplantation, even after correcting for heart failure severity.

Conclusions:

  • Children aged 6 years and older with DCM exhibit increased depressive and anxiety problems compared to the general population.
  • Somatic complaints are a common issue in children with DCM across different age groups.
  • No significant association was found between emotional/behavioral problems and adverse clinical outcomes in this cohort.
Abstract

Keywords:
Dilated cardiomyopathyemotional and behavioral problemsheart failurepediatricspsychosocial support

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