Burden of Mental Depression in Patients with Chronic Heath Failure: A Cross-Sectional Study in Cameroon’s Reference Hospitals

Background: Chronic Heath Failure (CHF) is a global public health problem. It is associated with psychological problem that have a great impact in Quality of life. Amongst the psychological disorders associated with CHF, mental depression is a major one. There are few studies done in Sub-Sahara Africa in general and specifically in Cameroon. The knowledge of the epidemiology of depression in Cameroon will help policymakers to reduce burden of CHF in this part of the world. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the prevalence of mental depression in patients with Chronic Heath Failure followed in three reference hospitals of Cameroon. Methodology: We carried out a cross-sectional study over a period of 04 months, from January to May 2017. The patients were recruited from the cardiology departments of three references Hospitals of Cameroon: Yaoundé Central Hospital (YCH), General Hospital of Yaoundé (GHY) and Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital (YUTH). We included all patients aged 18 years and above followed for CHF and consenting to participate in the study. Patients with other chronic conditions (chronic kidney disease, cancer, schizophrenia) were excluded. Evaluation and detection of mental depression was done by the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Results: A total of 119 patients were recruited. The mean age was 66 ± 13 years. More than 2/3 (70.6%) of the patients were unemployed. The majority of patients (83.2%) had low monthly income (<100 000 FCFA). Stage II of heart failure according to New York Heart Association (NYHA) was the most represented (50%). The prevalence of depression was 35.3% (n=42) with the respective frequency of 26.1%, 8.4%, 0.8% for mild, moderate, moderately severe. Conclusion: The prevalence of mental depression is high in patients with Chronic Heart Failure in Cameroon. The clinician should be aware of that in order to improve quality of life of these patients.

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