A Comparative Study on Assessment of Depression in Cardiovascular Disease Patients

Abstract

Aim: To assess depression level in cardiovascular disease patients and compare it with the individual without cardiovascular disease. Methods: A comparative study was conducted to assess the level of depression in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. The sample size was 200 (100 CVD patients and 100 non-CVD participants) with a random sampling technique. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-42) was used to assess the level of depression of the study participants. Results: Cardiovascular disease patients recorded significantly higher depression levels than the control group (without CVD). The impact of demographic variables such as gender, age, education and socioeconomic also revealed significant differences in depression level among them. Both, females and elderly CVD patients reported higher depression scores on DASS-42. Depressive level was also higher in CVD patients who had lower levels of education and socioeconomic status. Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that depression is a psychological risk factor and CVD patients. Females, less educated, elderly and with low socioeconomic status CVD patients were more affected. Understanding the complex relationship between mental health issues like depression and cardiovascular disease and impact of gender, education, age and socioeconomic status socioeconomic status has not been researched extensively. Further studies are needed to understand the complexity of these interrelationships Keywords: Depression, Cardiovascular disease, Gender, Age, Education and Socioeconomic status.