Depressive symptoms and the relationship of inflammation to physical signs and symptoms in heart failure patients

Abstract

Background: Depressive symptoms in patients with heart failure can affect the relationship between physical signs and symptoms and inflammation. Objective: To examine the relationship between soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor I and physical signs and symptoms and the effects of depressive symptoms on this relationship in patients with heart failure. Methods: Data on physical signs and symptoms (Symptom Status Questionnaire-Heart Failure), depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II), and levels of the receptor (blood samples) were collected from 145 patients with heart failure. Data on the receptor were square root transformed to achieve normality. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to their scores for depressive symptoms (nondepressed <14 and depressed ≥14). Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Results: In the total sample, with controls for covariates, higher levels of the receptor were significantly related to more severe physical signs and symptoms (F = 7.915; P