Liver and Bile
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022;20(1):194–203.e1
Depression and anxiety are common among patients with cirrhosis
Background and aims: Depression and anxiety can have negative effects on patients and are important to treat. There have been few studies of their prevalence among patients with cirrhosis. The authors aimed to characterize the prevalence and risk factors for depression and anxiety in a large multicenter cohort of patients with cirrhosis.
Methods: They conducted a telephone-based survey of patients with cirrhosis at 3 health systems in the United States (a tertiary-care referral center, a safety net system, and a Veterans hospital) from April through December 2018. Of 2871 patients approached, 1021 (35.6%) completed the survey. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the PHQ-9 (range, 0–25) and STAI (range, 20–80) instruments, with clinically significant values defined as PHQ-9 ≥ 15 and STAI ≥ 40. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with significant depression and anxiety.
Results: The median PHQ-9 score was 7 (25th percentile–75th percentile, 3–12) and the median STAI score was 33 (25th percentile–75th percentile, 23–47); 15.6% of patients had moderately severe to severe depression and 42.6% of patients had high anxiety. In multivariable analyses, self-reported poor health (odds ratio [OR] = 4.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.79–9.28), being widowed (OR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.07–4.05), fear of hepatocellular carcinoma (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.04–3.42), higher household income (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.10–0.95), and Hispanic ethnicity (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.33–0.97) were associated with moderately severe to severe depression. Male sex (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.51–0.98), self-reported poor health (OR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.73–4.32), and fear of hepatocellular carcinoma (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.33–3.78) were associated with high anxiety.
Conclusions: Nearly 1 in 6 patients with cirrhosis have moderately severe to severe depression and nearly half have moderate-severe anxiety. Patients with cirrhosis should be evaluated for both of these disorders.