ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS. AN ANALYTICAL CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY FROM PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is associated with substantial physical and psychological impairment which is why mental health screening rates in Pakistan are ignored. The present study was conducted to determine anxiety and depression rates in HF patients in Peshawar and to evaluate the existence of social-demographic factors.

The analytical cross-sectional study lasted six months, and three tertiary care hospitals, that is, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Lady Reading Hospital, and Rehman Medical Institute, were used. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 379 patients with HF age 18 years and above, and the diagnosis had been known for a minimum period of six months. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in Urdu language was administered. The analysis of the data was performed in SPSS v27 based on the t-tests and ANOVA; the value of p < 0.05 was used as a significant one.

The anxiety mean score was 11.57 3.43 and depression mean score was 11.37 3.52 which is moderate. Patients of public hospitals (p = 0.037) and non-Muslims (p = 0.012) were recorded to have a greater anxiety and depression level. Younger adults (18 to 40 years), females, and non-educated persons also are likely to have higher distress albeit without statistical significance. The most reported were restlessness and loss of cheerfulness. Reliability of the tool was checked by Cronbach’s alpha, which was 0.82–0.84 for the anxiety subscale and 0.947–0.948 for the depression subscale.

Psychological distress is quite common among patients who have HF in Peshawar with significant associations of religion and type of hospital. Screening and culturally competent psychosocial interventions should be incorporated into routine care of the heart to advance quality of life and clinical results.