Effect of cardiac rehabilitation programme following elective percutaneous coronary angiography on depressive symptoms: A cohort study

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common condition in cardiac patients. We investigated the effect of cardiac rehabilitation on depressive symptoms as detected by Beck depression inventory II score (BDI) in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: In this cohort, 95 patients met our criteria. Patients were then studied in two groups based on their participation in the rehabilitation program to rehabilitation (exposure) and the control (non-exposure) groups. The control group consisted of those who only participated in the introductory session and decided not to continue the program. Finally, demographic and clinical parameters as well as the BDI scores were compared between the study groups. RESULTS: Data of 35 patients who completed rehabilitation program was compared with 60 patients who did not. There was no significant difference between the study groups regarding the demographic and clinical variables, except for a higher frequency of family history for CAD in the control group (p < 0.001). The frequency of the patients with no or mild depression was significantly higher in the rehabilitation group than the controls (p = 0.02). There was also a significant increase in the BDI score of the control group and a significant decrease in the rehabilitation group (p < 0.001). After adjustment for confounders (family history and severity of CAD), not attending the rehabilitation program was a strong risk factor for depression (OR = 10.8, 95% CI: 1.3, 88.5; P = 0.027). CONCLUSION: Overall, this study showed that not attending cardiac rehabilitation program following elective PCI was a risk factor for depression.