Anxiety and depression in community-dwelling elders with cardiovascular risk factors

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Elders with three or more cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) are at an increased risk of suffering a cardiac event. Anxiety and depression have been proven to be important outcomes in elders. This study aimed to compare the level of anxiety and depression in elders with three or more CVRF vs. elders with less than three CVRF. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. 112 community-dwelling elders participated in this study. Sociodemographic characteristics, (age, sex, marital status), clinical outcomes (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate) and CVRF (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, smoking, personal and family history of cardiac events) were assessed. Participants were divided in two groups: i) elders with three or more CVRF (n=46); ii) elders with less than three CVRF (n=66). We evaluated anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results The age of the sample ranged from 60 to 88 years, 71,4% were women, and 55,4% were married. The participants who presented at least three CVRF significantly showed a higher level of depression (HADS-D, p = 0,009) than those who presented less than three CVRF. However, no differences in anxiety (HADS-A, p = 0,087) were obtained when comparing between-group differences. Conclusion Elders with at least three CVRF might show higher levels of depression than elders with less than three CVRF. It seems important to measure depression when assessing cardiac outcomes in community-dwelling elders, in order to establish specific programs and treatments for elders who present CVRF.