Obese HF patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk to develop depression

Patients with heart failure (HF) and metabolic dysfunction have an elevated risk for depression and severe forms of depression. This was particularly pronounced in those who were both obese and had type 2 diabetes.

A study presented by Dr Adesegun Kuye (Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine) explored whether metabolic disturbances influence the risk of depression and its severity in HF patients [1]. The study included 154 patients with HF of ischaemic origin and divided them into 4 groups: group 1 (n=42) included patients with HF and concomitant diabetes mellitus and obesity; group 2 (n=46) included patients with HF and concomitant obesity only; group 3 (n=36) comprised of obese patients with HF; and patients in group 4 (n=30) had HF without metabolic comorbidities. Beck Depression Inventory was used to estimate the presence and origin of depressive disorders.

The presence of metabolic dysfunctions had a clear effect on both presence and severity of depressive symptoms. Only 4.8% of patients in group 1 had no symptoms of depression, 55.6% suffered from mild depression, 26.2% from moderate depression, 26% from moderately severe depression, and 9.5% even from severe depression. HF patients with type 2 diabetes had mild (52.2%), moderate (21.7%), moderately severe (15.2%), and severe (3.1%) depression. Obese HF patients had mild (55.6%) or moderate (25%) depression. Lastly, 60 % of HF patients without accompanying metabolic pathology had signs of mild depression only, and 40% did not show any signs of depression.

To estimate the impact of metabolic disorders on the development of depression, odds ratios (OR) were determined for each group: Obese HF patients had an OR of 2.7 to develop depression, those with type 2 diabetes an OR of 7.1, and those with both metabolic dysfunctions an odds ratio of 30.

“The combination of type 2 diabetes and obesity in patients with HF of ischaemic origin is a risk factor for the development of depression and its progression to severe disease,” Dr Kuye concluded.

1. 1. Kuye AJ, et alj. Severity of depressive disorders in chronic heart failure patients with ischemic heart disease depending on concomitant metabolic disturbances. Session e-Posters station 8, Heart Failure 2023, 20–23 May 2023, Prague, Czechia.

 

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Posted on 25 May, 2023