Title: Symptoms of anxiety and depression and the role of social support in patients with chest pain
Abstract:Background and aim: Being admitted to a coronary care unit due to chest pain is stressful. Limited data is available on anxiety and depression in chest pain patients during the acute phase. Social sup...Background and aim: Being admitted to a coronary care unit due to chest pain is stressful. Limited data is available on anxiety and depression in chest pain patients during the acute phase. Social support may act as a buffer to the psychological impact of an acute cardiac event. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression and their relationship to social support in patients admitted to a coronary care unit (CCU) for acute chest pain. Methods: The study had a descriptive, cross sectional design based on data collected by standardised questionnaires. Data was collected consecutively at a university hospital in central Sweden between October 2006 and October 2007. Eligible for the study were patients younger than 75 years, hospitalized due to chest pain at the CCU, who spoke and read Swedish and were in a general state of health to participate in the study. Patients were asked to answer three different questionnaires: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Medical Outcome Study-Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) within 24 hours after being admitted to CCU. Results:A total of 337 patients were included in the study (mean age 60.5 years, 73 % men, 73 % married). Only two patients were free from symptoms of anxiety and depression, while 7 % of the patients had clinically significant levels of both anxiety and depression. A total 71 % had a clinically significant or severe level of anxiety and 22 % were at a borderline level for anxiety. A total of 14 % had a clinically significant level of depression and 67 % were at a borderline level of depression. Regression analysis showed that social support was independently related to anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Patients admitted to CCU experience extreme levels of psychological distress in the acute phase and social support seems to play an important role. Assessment of anxiety and depression as well as interventions including support and information should be considered in the CCU setting in order to improve mental well-being of patients with chest pain.Read More
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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