Journal of International Psychiatry

Objective To investigate the anxiety status of hospitalized elderly patients with heart failure and explore its related influencing factors. Methods A total of 247 elderly patients with heart failure hospitalized in the Department of Cardiology of three general hospitals in Beijing from May 2018 to December 2018 were consecutively enrolled, of which 183 (74.09%) patients met the study requirements. Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) was used to evaluate the anxiety status of patients. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and disease information. Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of anxiety in elderly patients with heart failure. Results Sixty-one patients (33.33%) had different degrees of anxiety, and the proportions of mild, moderate and severe anxiety were 14.21% (26 cases), 13.66% (25 cases) and 5.46% (10 cases), respectively. Thirty-five patients (19.13%) had clinically significant anxiety. Patients with NHYA Ⅲ/Ⅳ (OR=2.541, 95%CI: 1.139-5.670, P < 0.05) and decreased self-care ability (OR=2.406, 95%CI: 1.126-5.138, P < 0.05) had higher risk of anxiety, and widowed patients had a lower risk of anxiety (OR=0.213, 95%CI: 0.074-0.616, P < 0.05). Conclusion Anxiety is a common psychological phenomenon in hospitalized elderly patients with heart failure. The risk of anxiety may be higher in patients with poor cardiac function and decreased self-care ability, and the risk of anxiety may be lower in the widowed group, but further studies are warranted.

Elderly; Heart failure; Anxiety; Prevalance; Influencing factors