Depression in heart failure: Can PHQ-9 help?

Background: The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) is an effective tool for identification and grading of depression symptoms. Data on PHQ-9 utility for patients with heart failure (HF) are limited.

Methods: We evaluated the severity of depression by PHQ-9 at baseline and its association with health care resource utilization (HCRU) rates and quality of life (QoL) in 308 outpatients enrolled in a prospective HF cohort study. Depression symptoms were stratified according to PHQ-9 score as minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), or moderate-to-severe (10-27).

Results: Mean age of patients was 57±11years; 65% were men; 50% were white and 47% black; ejection fraction was 30±15%. Over 24±12months (total: 625person-years), there were 41 (13.3%) major clinical events (34 deaths, 5 transplants, 2 ventricular assist device implantations), 633 all-cause admissions (249 [39.3%] for HF), and 362 emergency department (ED) visits. Moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms were associated with 70% more all-cause admissions compared to patients without depressive symptoms and 2.5 times more HF-related admissions. However, less than 50% of patients with moderate-to-severe symptoms were on antidepressants. In adjusted analyses, even mild depressive symptoms were associated with 57% more all-cause admissions compared to patients without depressive symptoms and more than 2-fold higher rate of HF-related admissions. Depressive symptoms were not associated with ED visits. Increasing PHQ-9 score was associated with progressively worse QoL. PHQ-9 was not associated with major clinical events.

Conclusions: PHQ-9 effectively identifies HF patients at risk for increased HCRU and lower QoL. Interventions to reduce depression symptoms may help improve HF outcomes.