Depression is independently associated with 7-year mortality in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention: Results from the RESEARCH registry

Background Depression has been associated with poor prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), but little is known about the impact of depression on long-term mortality. We examined whether depression was associated with 7-year mortality in patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), after adjusting for socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, anxiety, and the distressed (Type D) personality. Methods The sample comprised a cohort of consecutive PCI patients (N=1234; 72.0% men; mean age 62.0±11.1years, range [26–90] years) from the Rapamycin-Eluting Stent Evaluated At Rotterdam Cardiology Hospital (RESEARCH) registry. At baseline (i.e., 6months post-PCI), patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess anxiety and depression and the Type D scale (DS14) to assess Type D personality. The endpoint was defined as all-cause mortality. Results The prevalence of depression (HADS-D≥8) was 26.2% (324/1236). After a median follow-up of 7.0±1.6years, 187 deaths (15.2%) from any cause were recorded. The incidence of all-cause mortality in depressed patients was 23.5% (76/324) versus 12.2% (111/910) in non-depressed patients. Cumulative hazard functions differed significantly for depressed versus non-depressed patients (log-rank X2 =25.57, p<.001). In multivariable analysis, depression remained independently associated with all-cause mortality (HR=1.63; 95% CI [1.05–2.71], p=.038), after adjusting for socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, anxiety, and Type D personality. Conclusions Depression was independently associated with a 1.6-fold increased risk for 7-year mortality, above and beyond anxiety and Type D personality. Future studies are warranted to further elucidate the potential pathways linking depression to long-term mortality following PCI.