Depression and Uptake of Oral Anticoagulation Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study.

Abstract

Oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is a highly important preventive intervention, perhaps especially in those with comorbid depression, who have a worse prognosis. However, OAT may pose particular challenges in depressed patients. To assess whether AF patients with depression have lower OAT uptake. This nationwide register-based 2005-2016 cohort study of all Danes with AF and OAT indication (CHA2DS2VASc stroke risk score ≥2) assessed OAT initiation within 90 days in those with incident AF (N=147,162) and OAT prevalence in those with prevalent AF (N=192,656). The associations of depression with both outcomes were estimated in regression analyses with successive adjustment for socioeconomic characteristics and somatic and psychiatric comorbidity. Comorbid depression was significantly associated with lower frequency of OAT initiation in incident AF patients {adjusted proportion differences (aPDs): -6.6% [95% confidence interval (CI), -7.4 to -5.9]} and lower prevalence of OAT [aPD: -4.2% (95% CI, -4.7 to -3.8)] in prevalent AF patients. Yet, the OAT uptake increased substantially during the period, particularly in depressed patients [aPD for OAT prevalence in 2016: -0.8% (95% CI, -1.6 to -0.0)]. Comorbid depression was associated with a significantly lower OAT uptake in patients with AF, which questions whether depressed patients receive sufficient support to manage this consequential cardiac condition. However, a substantial increase in the overall OAT uptake and a decrease of the depression-associated deficit in OAT were seen over the period during which OAT was developed through the introduction of new oral anticoagulation therapy.