Depressive symptoms and clinical outcome in individuals with heart failure – Results from the MyoVasc study

Objective Depression is common in individuals with heart failure (HF) and associated with adverse outcomes. The effect of depression, especially the somatic and cognitive dimension of depression, on endpoints worsening of HF (WoHF), all cause-death, and cardiac death are still uncertain. Methods Association between depressiveness, as assessed by the Patient-Health-Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and outcomes were examined in the MyoVasc study (NCT04064450; N = 3289), a prospective cohort study on chronic HF. Participants on antidepressants were excluded. Results In 2801 participants, 27.4% showed mild depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 = 5-9). Major depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 £ 10) was present in 7.3%. During follow-up at 6 years 13% (n = 365) died of whom 125 were reported to have died of a cardiac cause. After adjustment for age and sex, those with depressive symptoms had higher risk for all-cause death (HR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.03-1.09, p = 0.00021) and WoHF (HR 1.05, 9SXCI: 1.03-1.08, p