Prevalence of depression among cardiac patients within the general population in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background & objective: Depression is well-known to be quite common among patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Depression might affect a patient’s outcomes negatively. This survey-based study aimed to assess the depressive status of known CVD patients in the general population of Saudi Arabia and its associated predictors.

Methodology: This is an online cross-sectional survey study conducted in Saudi Arabia in May 2025. Participants’ demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, residency, marital status, education level, occupation, income level, and history of cardiovascular disease, were recorded. A previously validated questionnaire was utilized in this research to examine cardiac depression among patients with CVD. Logistic regression was employed to identify predictors of depression. The data were analysed using SPSS version 29. To evaluate the normality of the data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was conducted. Given that the data satisfied the parametric assumptions, independent t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were executed as appropriate. The Tukey post-hoc test was utilized for multiple group comparisons, and the findings were assessed accordingly.

Results: The study included 396 cardiovascular patients. The total cardiac depression scale mean was 95.01 ± 30.65 out of 182, which demonstrates a moderate level of depression (52.2% of the maximum score). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with a master’s degree had significantly lower odds of depression compared to those with only primary education (OR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.02–0.63, P = 0.013). Additionally, living in the Qasim region of the country was associated with a lower risk of depression (OR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.07-0.87, P = 0.02). These findings suggest that higher education and specific regions may serve as protective factors against depression in cardiovascular patients.

Conclusion: Depression is common across patients with CVD. Healthcare professionals are advised to monitor the mental status of CVD patients. due to its crucial role in enhancing their adherence to their therapy and ultimately improving their cardiac outcomes.

Abbreviations: AHA: American Heart Association, CDS: Cardiac Depression Scale, CVD: cardiovascular disease,

Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases; Depression; Heart diseases; Mental status

Citation: Alnemer KA, AlAhmari OM, Barnawi AB. Prevalence of depression among cardiac patients within the general population in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2025;29(6):469-75. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v29i6.2889

Received: May 18, 2025; Revised: April 04, 2025; Accepted: April 04, 2025