Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract

Introduction Adolescents with congenital heart disease are at increased risk for developingpsychological distress. Aim of the study To assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety in adolescents withcongenital heart disease, and to identify the predictors related to thesedisorders. Methods This is a cross-sectional case-control study. A total of 60 adolescents withCHD aged from 12-18 years and 30 apparently healthy adolescents were recruited. All participants were assessed using a designed questionnaire, the Children'sDepression Inventory (CDI), the Revised Children Manifest Anxiety Scale(RCMAS), and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children andAdolescents (MINI-Kid). Results Prevalence of depression was higher in adolescents with CHD compared to healthycontrol (18.3% vs. 3.3%, p= 0.048). Moreover, 30% of adolescents with CHD hadanxiety compared to 10% of the control group (p= 0.03). Multivariate analysisof risk factors showed that level of education and symptomatic cardiacfunctional class were the significant predictors of depression in adolescentswith CHD. Likewise, presence of more than one cardiac defect and having morethan one cardiac catheterization were the significant predictors of anxiety inadolescents with CHD. Conclusion Adolescentswith CHD are at increased risk of having depression and anxiety, especiallythose with low level of education, severe cardiac illness and having multiplecardiac catheterizations. Appropriate psychiatric assessment and earlyintervention can improve the quality of life of adolescents with CHD.