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. 2017 Apr:34:52-56.
doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2017.01.003. Epub 2017 Feb 3.

The level of anxiety, depression and quality of life among patients with heart failure in Greece

Zoi Aggelopoulou  1 , Nikolaos V Fotos  2 , Anastasia A Chatziefstratiou  3 , Konstantinos Giakoumidakis  4 , Ioannis Elefsiniotis  5 , Hero Brokalaki  6
Affiliations

The level of anxiety, depression and quality of life among patients with heart failure in Greece

Zoi Aggelopoulou et al. Appl Nurs Res. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: The assessment of the level of anxiety, depression and quality of life among patients with heart failure.

Methods: It was an observational study. The populations were 231 patients with heart failure who were hospitalized in cardiology departments of 2 general hospitals in Athens, from September 1, 2010 through January 31, 2012. We used the "Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire - MLHFQ" to evaluate patients' quality of life and the " State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - STAI" and the "Maastricht Questionnaire - MQ" to evaluate the level of stress and depression, respectively.

Results: The mean age of patients was 66.1±10.1years. The quality of life was poor, since the average score in MLHFQ was 65.4±20.6. Also, patients revealed high levels of both trait and state anxiety (mean score in STAI was 54.5±9.4 and 52.8±8.5 respectively) and depression (mean score in MQ was 34.3±8.4). Factors associated with poor quality of life and high levels of anxiety and depression were older age, low level of education, unemployment, poor economic situation, multiple hospitalizations (> 4 times) and heart failure stages III and IV in NYHA (p<0.001 in all cases).

Conclusion: Patients with heart failure present severe symptoms of anxiety and depression and poor quality of life. Assessing those patients for these symptoms and providing holistic health care by a multidisciplinary team, will lead to the prevention and early treatment not only of physical but also of the psychosocial manifestations of the disease.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Heart failure; Quality of life.

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