Does depression increase mortality in patients with coronary heart disease?
Depression is a relevant risk factor for mortality in patients with coronary heart disease.
Depressive symptoms and clinical depression have an unfavorable impact on mortality in CHD patients. The results are limited by heterogeneity of the results in the primary studies. There is no clear evidence whether self-report or clinical interview is the more precise predictor. Nevertheless, depression has to be considered a relevant risk factor in patients with CHD.
Barth et al. (2004) studied this question.