Depression Predicts Cardiac Cachexia in Heart Failure Patients

Cardiac cachexia (CC) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in persons with heart failure (HF). Compared to the biological underpinning of CC, little is known about the psychological factors. Thus, the overarching objective of this study was to determine whether depression predicts the onset of cachexia at 6 months in patients with chronic HF.

114 participants with a mean age of 56.7 ± 13.0 years, LVEF of 33.13 ± 12.30% and NYHA class III (48.0%) were assessed for depression using the PHQ-9. Body weight was measured at baseline and at 6 months. Patients who had ≥6% non-edematous unintentional weight loss were classified as cachectic. Univariate and logistic multivariate regression were used to examine the relationship between CC and depression, controlling for clinical and demographic variables.

Cachectic patients (11.4%) had significantly higher baseline BMI levels (31.35 ± 5.70 vs. 28.31 ± 4.73; p = .038), lower LVEF (mean = 24.50 ± 9.48 vs. 34.22 ± 12.18, p = .009), and depression scores (mean = 7.17 ± 6.44 vs. 4.27 ± 3.98, p = .049) when compared to their non-cachectic counterparts. In multivariate regression analysis, depression scores (β = 1.193, p = .035) and LVEF (β = .835, p = .031) predicted cachexia after controlling for age, gender, body mass index, VO₂ max, and New York Heart Association class and accounted for 49% of the variance in Cardiac cachexia. When depression was dichotomized, depression and LVEF predicted 52.6% of the variance in CC.

Depression predicts CC in patients with HF. Additional studies are needed to expand the knowledge of the role of the psychological determinants of this devastating syndrome.