Background: Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are likely to experience depression, which contributes to the burden of disease and is a risk factor for mortality. Patients in outpatient clinics in Jordan are not routinely screened for depression. Significant relationships among patient characteristics must be determined to ascertain the predictors of depression.
Purpose: The aims of this research were to assess the level of depression symptoms in nonhospitalized patients with CAD; to examine the relationships between depression and relevant sociodemographic, self-reported health history, and patient health perception variables; and to identify possible predictors of depression in Jordan.
Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample (N = 174) of nonhospitalized outpatients who had been diagnosed with CAD. Self-reported demographic, health history, and health perception information (independent variables) were provided by the participants. The depression scores (dependent variable) for the participants were assessed using the Cardiac Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, Pearson's correlations, and multiple linear regressions.
Results: Half of the participants reported mild to moderate depression, with 37% reporting severe depression. Predictors of depression included gender (being female), having a concomitant chronic disease, prior surgery, irregular exercise, impaired sexual activity, and self-perceived poor psychological health.
Conclusions/implications for practice: To improve patient outcomes, clinical personnel should screen patients with CAD for depression and offer a combined pharmaceutical and therapeutic treatment intervention. An easy-to-administer instrument to detect depression may be included in the standard patient checkup routine used in clinics. Several patient characteristics were found to significantly affect depression and health outcomes.