The association of depression and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Background: Depression is a prevalent and disabling mental disorder that frequently co-occurs with a wide range of chronic conditions. Evidence has suggested that depression could be associated with excess all-cause mortality across different settings and populations, although the causality of these associations remains unclear. Methods: We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase electronic databases were searched through January 20, 2018. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses that investigated associations of depression and all-cause and cause-specific mortality were selected for the review. The evidence was graded as convincing, highly suggestive, suggestive, or weak based on quantitative criteria that included an assessment of heterogeneity, 95% prediction intervals, small-study effects, and excess significance bias. Results: A total of 26 references providing 2 systematic reviews and data for 17 meta-analytic estimates met inclusion criteria (19 of them on all-cause mortality); data from 246 unique studies (N = 3,825,380) were synthesized. All 17 associations had P < 0.05 per random effects summary effects, but none of them met criteria for convincing evidence. Associations of depression and all-cause mortality in patients after acute myocardial infarction, in individuals with heart failure, in cancer patients as well as in samples from mixed settings met criteria for highly suggestive evidence. However, none of the associations remained supported by highly suggestive evidence in sensitivity analyses that considered studies employing structured diagnostic interviews. In addition, associations of depression and all-cause mortality in cancer and post-acute myocardial infarction samples were supported only by suggestive evidence when studies that tried to adjust for potential confounders were considered. Conclusions: Even though associations between depression and mortality have nominally significant results in all assessed settings and populations, the evidence becomes weaker when focusing on studies that used structured interviews and those that tried to adjust for potential confounders. A causal effect of depression on all-cause and cause-specific mortality remains unproven, and thus interventions targeting depression are not expected to result in lower mortality rates at least based on current evidence from observational studies

117 Medicines optimisation before discharge in patients admitted to hospital with heart failure

Background In the UK, approximately half of patients with heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction (HeFREF) are discharged from hospital on triple therapy (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), beta-blockers (BB), and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA). It is unknown what proportion of patients would be eligible for uptitration of medicines prior to discharge, nor how many might be eligible for initiation of sacubitril-valsartan or sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2I).Methods Between 2012 and 2017, 1,277 patients admitted with suspected heart failure were enrolled at a single hospital serving a local community around Kingston-Upon-Hull, UK. Eligibility for sacubitril-valsartan or SGLT2I was based on entry criteria for the PIONEER-HF, DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced trials.Results 455 patients had HeFREF with complete data on renal function, heart rate and systolic blood pressure (SBP) on discharge. 83% were taking an ACEI/ARB, 85% a BB and 63% MRA on discharge (figure 1). More than 60% were eligible for sacubitril-valsartan and more than 70% for SGLT2i (figure 2). Among those not already receiving a each drug, 37%, 28%, and 49% were eligible to start ACEI/ARB, BB, or MRA respectively (tables 1 and 2). Low SBP (&lt;105 mmHg) was the most common reason for failure to initiate or up-titrate (table 2).Conclusion Most patients admitted for heart failure are eligible for initiation of life prolonging medications prior to discharge. A hospital admission may be a common missed opportunity to improve treatment for HeFREF<br/

Prognostic value of the chest x-ray in patients hospitalised for heart failure

Background: Patients admitted to hospital with heart failure will have had a chest X-ray (CXR), but little is known about their prognostic significance. We aimed to report the prevalence and prognostic value of the initial chest radiograph findings in patients admitted to hospital with heart failure (acute heart failure, AHF). Methods: The erect CXRs of all patients admitted with AHF between October 2012 and November 2016 were reviewed for pulmonary venous congestion, Kerley B lines, pleural effusions and alveolar oedema. Film projection (whether anterior–posterior [AP] or posterior–anterior [PA]) and cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) were also recorded. Trial registration: ISRCTN96643197 Results: Of 1145 patients enrolled, 975 [median (interquartile range) age 77 (68–83) years, 61% with moderate, or worse, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, and median NT-proBNP 5047 (2337–10,945) ng/l] had an adequate initial radiograph, of which 691 (71%) were AP. The median CTR was 0.57 (IQR 0.53–0.61) in PA films and 0.60 (0.55–0.64) in AP films. Pulmonary venous congestion was present in 756 (78%) of films, Kerley B lines in 688 (71%), pleural effusions in 649 (67%) and alveolar oedema in 622 (64%). A CXR score was constructed using the above features. Increasing score was associated with increasing age, urea, NT-proBNP, and decreasing systolic blood pressure, haemoglobin and albumin; and with all-cause mortality on multivariable analysis (hazard ratio 1.10, 95% confidence intervals 1.07–1.13, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Radiographic evidence of congestion on a CXR is very common in patients with AHF and is associated with other clinical measures of worse prognosis

Hypochloraemia following admission to hospital with heart failure is common and associated with an increased risk of readmission or death: a report from OPERA-HF

Aims Hypochloraemia is common in patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) and associated with a high risk of adverse outcomes during admission and following discharge. We assessed the significance of changes in serum chloride concentrations in relation to serum sodium and bicarbonate concentrations during admission in a cohort of 1002 consecutive patients admitted with HF and enrolled into an observational study based at a single tertiary centre in the UK. Methods and results Hypochloraemia (32 mmol/L) were defined by local laboratory reference ranges. Outcomes assessed were all-cause mortality, all-cause mortality or all-cause readmission, and all-cause mortality or HF readmission. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to investigate associations with outcome. During a median follow-up of 856 days (interquartile range 272-1416), discharge hypochloraemia, regardless of serum sodium, or bicarbonate levels was associated with greater all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15-1.79; P = 0.001], all-cause mortality or all-cause readmission (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04-1.53; P = 0.02), and all-cause mortality or HF readmission (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.14-1.74; P = 0.002) after multivariable adjustment. Patients with concurrent hypochloraemia and natraemia had lower haemoglobin and haematocrit, suggesting congestion; those with hypochloraemia and normal sodium levels had more metabolic alkalosis, suggesting decongestion. Conclusion Hypochloraemia is common at discharge after a hospitalization for HF and is associated with worse outcome subsequently. It is an easily measured clinical variables that is associated with morbidity or mortality of any cause. [GRAPHICS