A Study to Observe the Impact of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Levels on the Cardiovascular Profile in Elderly Patients Attending a Peripheral Medical College of a Developing Country

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, more so in an aging population with mental health issues. Objectives: We aimed to study the influence of depression, anxiety, and stress levels on the cardiovascular profile in elderly patients attending a peripheral medical college in West Bengal. Methodology and Participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a peripheral medical college among 197 elderly participants. The cardiovascular profile was examined and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 scores were estimated. Results: One hundred and thirty-four (68%) were male and 63 (32%) were female and male–female participants were age and body mass index (BMI) matched. Males had significantly higher waist/hip ratio, heart rates, systolic blood pressure (BP), and diastolic BP. The female population demonstrated significantly higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), whereas males had higher levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol. One hundred and third-eight (70.1%) had normal electrocardiogram findings, 30 (15.2%) had left axis deviation, 13 (6.6%) had right axis deviation, and 16 (8.2%) had ischemic heart disease. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) score of depression for males was 10.66 ± 6.81 and for females 16.22 ± 7.17 (P < 0.0001). The mean ± SD of the stress score for males was 10.67 ± 6.71 and for females 15.17 ± 6.45 (P < 0.001). BMI, heart rate, triglyceride, VLDL, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol showed a significant positive correlation with depression scores. A significant positive correlation was observed between anxiety scores and waist/hip ratio. Stress scores had significant positive correlations with age, triglyceride, LDL, and VLDL levels and a negative correlation with HDL levels. Conclusions: Increased depression anxiety and stress levels were found to worsen the cardiovascular profile among the elderly population and more so among males.