A follow-up study on post myocardial infarction depression in a tertiary healthcare centre of Assam

Background: Major depressive disorder is widely prevalent in post myocardial infarction (MI) period. Various studies have reported a significant relationship between these two major disease states. Aim: To examine depression after MI and its socio-demographic variation. Methods: The study was a follow up study on patients of acute MI (n=50) attending cardiology outpatient department of the Assam Medical College Hospital in four to six weeks after the index event. Screening was done by the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders and diagnoses of major depressive disorder were established according to the text revision of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders criteria. Severity of the depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory. Study populations were again reassessed after eight weeks from the index event. Statistical software packages like SPSS-20, XLSTAT, and Microsoft Office Access were used for analysis. Results: Twenty eight and 32% of the study subjects were depressed on their first and second visit respectively. Conclusion: Similar pattern of post MI depression is found in our state likewise in correlation to western and Indian studies which were conducted in different states. So we recommend vigilance from the clinician’s side while handling cases of MI.