Functional status and depression among men and women with congestive heartfailure

Objective: The study was designed 1) to examine the prevalence of depressio n in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF); 2) to explore associatio ns between the physician's rating of functional status (NYHA class) and pat ient's assessment of functional status (physical limitation, dyspnea) with symptoms of depression; and 3) to explore gender related differences in rel ation to physician's rating and patient's rating of function status, and sy mptoms of depression. Method: A sample of 119 clinically stable heart failu re patients (85 males and 34 females) was recruited from an outpatient card iology hospital practice. The patients underwent a physical examination and completed a set of questionnaires. Prevalence of depressive symptoms and t he association of these symptoms with NYHA class and patient's perceived fu nctional status was studied. Results: Findings indicate that depressive sym ptoms were not predominant among this sample of CHF patients. Path analyses showed non-significant direct associations between NYHA class as well as p atient's perception of dyspnea with depression. In contract, the subjective indicator of physical limitations was strongly associated with symptoms of depression among the males, but this relation was not significant among th e females. Conclusions: Results suggest that men and women respond differen tly to the burden of heart failure. However, interpretation of the results from the present study should be considered as tentative and additional res earch is required to examine mechanisms that explain gender differences in response to heart failure.