Association of depression and survival in patients with chronic heart failure over 12 Years.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between depression and survival in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) over a 12-year follow-up period. BACKGROUND: The survival associated with depression has been demonstrated in HF patients for up to 7 years. Longer-term impact of depression on survival of these patients remains unknown. METHODS: Prospectively conducted observational study examining adults with HF who were admitted to a cardiology service at Duke University Medical Center between March 1997 and June 2003 and completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI) scale. The national death index was queried for vital status. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to determine the association of survival and depression. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 1792.33 ± 1372.82 days (median 1600; range 0-4683), 733 of 985 participants with HF died of all causes, representing 80% of those with depression (BDI > 10) and 73% of those without (P = 0.01). Depression was significantly and persistently associated with decreased survival over follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-1.57), and was independent of conventional risk factors (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.16-1.68). Furthermore, survival was inversely associated with depression severity (BDI (continuous) HR 1.02, 95% CI 1.006-1.025, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The impact of co-morbid depression during the index hospitalization on significantly increased mortality of HF patients is strong and persists over 12 years. These findings suggest that more investigation is needed to understand the trajectory of depression and the mechanisms underlying the impact of depression as well as to identify effective management strategies for depression of patients with HF.

Mitochondrial genome deletion aids in the identification of false- and true-negative prostate needle core biopsy specimens.

We report the usefulness of a 3.4-kb mitochondrial genome deletion (3.4 mtdelta) for molecular definition of benign, malignant, and proximal to malignant (PTM) prostate needle biopsy specimens. The 3.4 mtdelta was identified through long-extension polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of frozen prostate cancer samples. A quantitative PCR assay was developed to measure the levels of the 3.4 mtdelta in clinical samples. For normalization, amplifications of a nuclear target and total mitochondrial DNA were included. Cycle threshold data from these targets were used to calculate a score for each biopsy sample. In a pilot study of 38 benign, 29 malignant, and 41 PTM biopsy specimens, the difference between benign and malignant core biopsy specimens was well differentiated (P & .0001), with PTM indistinguishable from malignant samples (P = .833). Results of a larger study were identical. In comparison with histopathologic examination for benign and malignant samples, the sensitivity and specificity were 80% and 71%, respectively, and the area under a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.83 for the deletion. In a blinded external validation study, the sensitivity and specificity were 83% and 79%, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.87. The 3.4 mtdelta may be useful in defining malignant, benign, and PTM prostate tissues.

Relationship between depressive symptoms and long-term mortality in patients with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Depression is prevalent in patients with heart failure (HF) and is associated with short-term poor prognosis. However, the long-term effect of depression and the use of self-administered depression evaluation on HF prognosis remained unknown. The study sought to assess the association of depressive symptoms and long-term mortality of patients with HF and to explore the prognostic predictability of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale for patients with HF. METHODS: Hospitalized patients with HF between March 1997 and June 2003 were recruited. All participants were given the self-administered BDI scale for depression assessment during the index admission. They were then followed for 6 months for the collection of vital status, and annually thereafter. RESULTS: Total study population comprises 1006 patients. The mean BDI score was 8.3 +/- 7.1. The average days of follow-up were 971 +/- 730 and the vital status was obtained from all participants. During this period, 42.6% of the participants died. Depression (defined by BDI score > or = 10) was significantly and independently associated with reduced survival (adjusted hazard ratio 1.36, 95% CI 1.09-1.70, P < .001). Patients whose BDI scores were 5 to 9, 10 to 18, and > or = 19 were 21%, 53%, and 83% more likely to die, respectively, than patients whose BDI score was < 5 (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Self-rated depression by BDI is independently linked with higher long-term mortality in patients with HF. Significant dose effect of depressive symptoms on higher mortality is noted.

Somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations in prostate cancer and normal appearing adjacent glands in comparison to age-matched prostate samples without malignant histology.

Studies of somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations have become an important aspect of cancer research because these mutations might have functional significance and/or serve as a biosensor for tumor detection. Here we report somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations from three specific tissue types (tumor, adjacent benign, and distant benign) recovered from 24 prostatectomy samples. Needle biopsy tissue from 12 individuals referred for prostate biopsy, yet histologically benign (symptomatic benign), were used as among individual control samples. We also sampled blood (germplasm tissue) from each patient to serve as within individual controls relative to the somatic tissues sampled (malignant, adjacent, and distant benign). Complete mitochondrial genome sequencing was attempted on each sample. In contrast to both control groups [within patient (blood) and among patient (symptomatic benign)], all of the tissue types recovered from the malignant group harbored significantly different mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. We conclude that mitochondrial genome mutations are an early indicator of malignant transformation in prostate tissue. These mutations occur well before changes in tissue histo-pathology, indicative of prostate cancer, are evident to the pathologist.

Prognostic value of anxiety and depression in patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety is often present with depression and may be one of its manifestations. Although the adverse effects of depression in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have been well studied, the relation between anxiety and CHF prognosis has not been addressed. In a secondary analysis of data collected for a published study of depression and prognosis in patients with CHF, we examined the relations among anxiety, depression, and prognosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured symptoms of anxiety with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scale and symptoms of depression with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale in 291 patients with CHF hospitalized as a result of cardiac events. We followed up these patients for all-cause mortality over 1 year. The mean scores for state anxiety (State-A) and trait anxiety (Trait-A) were identical at 33.5; the mean BDI score was 8.7+/-7.6. State-A and Trait-A scores correlated highly with each other (r=0.85; P<0.01) and with BDI score (State-A, r=0.52; Trait-A, r=0.59; P<0.01). Cox proportional-hazards model with and without confounding variables showed no relation between State-A or Trait-A and 1-year mortality. BDI scores, however, significantly predicted increased mortality during 1-year follow-up (hazard ratio, 1.04 for each 1-unit increase; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although anxiety and depression are highly correlated in CHF patients, depression alone predicts a significantly worse prognosis for these patients.

Antidepressant use, depression, and survival in patients with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that the use of antidepressants may be associated with increased mortality in patients with cardiac disease. Because depression has also been shown to be associated with increased mortality in these patients, it remains unclear if this association is attributable to the use of antidepressants or to depression. METHODS: To evaluate the association of long-term mortality with antidepressant use and depression, we studied 1006 patients aged 18 years or older with clinical heart failure and an ejection fraction of 35% or less (62% with ischemic disease) between March 1997 and June 2003. The patients were followed up for vital status annually thereafter. Depression status, which was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale and use of antidepressants, was prospectively collected. The main outcome of interest was long-term mortality. RESULTS: Of the study patients, 30.0% were depressed (defined by a BDI score > or =10) and 24.2% were taking antidepressants (79.6% of these patients were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] only). The vital status was obtained from all participants at an average follow-up of 972 (731) (mean [SD]) days. During this period, 42.7% of the participants died. Overall, the use of antidepressants (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.69) or SSRIs only (unadjusted HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.99-1.74) was associated with increased mortality. However, the association between antidepressant use (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.94-1.64) and increased mortality no longer existed after depression and other confounders were controlled for. Nonetheless, depression remained associated with increased mortality (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.07-1.66). Similarly, depression (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.08-1.68) rather than SSRI use (HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.81-1.50) was independently associated with increased mortality after adjustment. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that depression (defined by a BDI score > or =10), but not antidepressant use, is associated with increased mortality in patients with heart failure.