Comparative Analysis of Treatment Options for Chronic Heart Failure and Depression: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis Publisher



Soleimani H^{1, 2, 3} ; Nasrollahizadeh A^{1, 4} ; Hajiqasemi M^{1, 5} ; Ebrahimzade M^{1, 5} ; Taheri H⁶ ; Ebrahimi P¹ ; Ashraf H² ; Samsky MD⁷ ; Hosseini K^{1, 2} Show Affiliations
Source: Heart Failure Reviews Published:2024

Abstract

Different interventions have been evaluated for the treatment of depression in heart failure (HF) patients. However, clear and established recommendations are lacking. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluating the effect of various treatment options on depression scores in heart failure patients. The primary outcome was a change in depression scores presented as standardized mean difference (SMD). A Bayesian network for meta-analysis was constructed. Twenty-five RCTs were included, randomizing 6014 patients with confirmed heart failure and depression between 2003 and 2022. Compared to treatment as usual (TAU), only cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (SMD − 0.60, CI95% [− 1.0, − 0.17]) leads to a significant reduction in depression scores. Other interventions did not improve depression scores significantly. Our results show that for patients with HF and depression, CBT can significantly improve measures of depression, being the most efficacious treatment. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.