Frailty Syndrome and Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

Background/Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the association between frailty syndrome and depressive symptoms within a cohort of patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Methods: This single-center cross-sectional study included 169 patients with IHD admitted for elective percutaneous coronary intervention. The median age was 68.00 [63.00-73.00] years; 59.7% of the patients were male. Frailty screening was performed using the European PRISMA-7 questionnaire, where a score of 3 or higher indicated a high probability of frailty. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). The total GDS-15 score was interpreted as follows: 0-5 points indicated no depressive symptoms, 6-10 points indicated mild depression, and 11-15 points indicated severe depression. Results: The prevalence of frailty in the study cohort, based on the PRISMA-7 questionnaire, was 52.7%. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) indicated a high probability of depressive symptoms in 19.5% of patients with IHD. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was significantly higher in frail than in non-frail patients. Furthermore, depressive disorders were 2.913 times more frequent among elderly frail patients with IHD compared to non-frail patients (95% CI: 1.262-6.725; p = 0.010). Correlation analysis confirmed a direct positive relationship between PRISMA-7 scores and GDS-15 scores (ρ = 0.392; p < 0.001). Conclusions: A significant association was identified between frailty and depressive symptoms in patients with IHD.