Psychological Distress and the Risk of Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease

Background: Psychological distress is a recognized risk factor in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), but its clinical significance is unclear.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine if an index of psychological distress is independently associated with adverse outcomes and significantly contributes to risk prediction.

Methods: Pooled analysis of 2 prospective cohort studies of patients with stable CHD (N = 891). A psychological distress score was constructed using measures of depression, anxiety, anger, perceived stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder, measured at baseline. The study endpoint included cardiovascular death or first or recurrent nonfatal myocardial infarction or hospitalization for heart failure at 5.9 years.

Results: In both cohorts, first and recurrent events occurred more often among those in the highest tertile of distress score than those in the lowest tertile. After combining the 2 cohorts, compared with the lowest tertile, the hazards ratio for having a distress score in the highest tertile was 2.27 (95% CI: 1.69-3.06), and for the middle tertile, it was 1.52 (95% CI: 1.10-2.08). Adjustment for demographics and clinical risk factors only slightly weakened the associations. When the distress score was added to a traditional clinical risk model, C-statistic, net reclassification index, and integrative discrimination index all significantly improved.

Conclusions: Among patients with CHD, a composite measure of psychological distress was significantly associated with an increased risk of adverse events and significantly improved risk prediction.