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 had both obesity and type 2 diabetes.

A study presented by Dr. Adesegun Kuye explored whether metabolic disturbances influence the risk of depression and its severity in HF patients. The study included 154 patients with HF of ischemic origin and divided them into four 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) included patients with obesity and HF; and group 4 (n=30) included patients with HF without metabolic comorbidities. The 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% had mild depression, 26.2% had moderate depression, 26% had moderately severe depression, and 9.5% had severe depression. HF patients with type 2 diabetes had mild (52.2%), moderate (21.7%), moderately severe (15.2%), and severe (3.1%) depression. HF patients with obesity 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, ORs were determined for each group: HF patients with obesity 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 OR of 30.

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

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