Mira-Lynn Chavanon1, Thomas Meyer2, Birgit Herbeck Belnap3, Yan Huang4, Kaleab Z Abebe5, Bruce L Rollman6, Christoph Herrmann-Lingen7. 1. Philipps-Universität Marburg, Department of Psychology, Marburg, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen Medical Centre, Göttingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Göttingen, Germany. 2. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen Medical Centre, Göttingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Göttingen, Germany. 3. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen Medical Centre, Göttingen, Germany; Center for Behavioral Health and Smart Technology, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 4. Center for Research on Health Care Data Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 5. Center for Clinical Trials and Data Coordination, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 6. Center for Behavioral Health and Smart Technology, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 7. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen Medical Centre, Göttingen, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Göttingen, Germany. Electronic address: cherrma@gwdg.de.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of emotion regulation and its relationship to mental and physical health in patients with heart failure (HF). METHODS: Patients hospitalized with HF were screened for depressive symptoms with the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) and classified as screen-positive if endorsing ≥1 item and otherwise as screen-negative. One month after hospital discharge, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was administered to assess suppression and reappraisal as emotion regulation strategies. In all participants who completed the ERQ (N = 394), all-cause rehospitalization and depressive symptoms using the PHQ-9 were assessed at 1-, 3-, and 6-months after hospital discharge. RESULTS: Overall, PHQ-9 scores decreased by 6-months (-0.13 points/month, p = .003), and although suppression showed a small association with depression, neither strategy modulated the slope of the decline in depressive symptoms. Multivariable-adjusted Cox models showed that reappraisal and suppression were not related to all-cause rehospitalization in the entire cohort. However, increasing reappraisal reduced rehospitalization risk by 24% for screen-positive patients (N = 311, HR = 0.76, p = .02), but increased it by 94% in screen-negative patients (N = 83, HR = 1.94, p = .009). CONCLUSION: Suppression and reappraisal showed specific and divergent associations in patients with HF: Suppression may relate to depressive symptoms. Reappraisal was associated with rehospitalization, but differently for patients with a positive vs. negative depression screen. Further studies are needed to examine whether emotion-regulation skill training can improve mental and physical health in depressed patients with HF or ameliorate depression in those at-risk.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of emotion regulation and its relationship to mental and physical health in patients with heart failure (HF). METHODS:Patients hospitalized with HF were screened for depressive symptoms with the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) and classified as screen-positive if endorsing ≥1 item and otherwise as screen-negative. One month after hospital discharge, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was administered to assess suppression and reappraisal as emotion regulation strategies. In all participants who completed the ERQ (N = 394), all-cause rehospitalization and depressive symptoms using the PHQ-9 were assessed at 1-, 3-, and 6-months after hospital discharge. RESULTS: Overall, PHQ-9 scores decreased by 6-months (-0.13 points/month, p = .003), and although suppression showed a small association with depression, neither strategy modulated the slope of the decline in depressive symptoms. Multivariable-adjusted Cox models showed that reappraisal and suppression were not related to all-cause rehospitalization in the entire cohort. However, increasing reappraisal reduced rehospitalization risk by 24% for screen-positive patients (N = 311, HR = 0.76, p = .02), but increased it by 94% in screen-negative patients (N = 83, HR = 1.94, p = .009). CONCLUSION: Suppression and reappraisal showed specific and divergent associations in patients with HF: Suppression may relate to depressive symptoms. Reappraisal was associated with rehospitalization, but differently for patients with a positive vs. negative depression screen. Further studies are needed to examine whether emotion-regulation skill training can improve mental and physical health in depressedpatients with HF or ameliorate depression in those at-risk.