Quality of life and psychological effects of congenital heart diseases in a sample of Egyptian adults

Abstract

Abstract Background Complex congenital heart disease (CHD) had very poor prognosis just a few decades ago. Nowadays, more than 90% of them, survive into adulthood, yet the complete “correction” or “repair” of CHD is not the rule and many of those patients undergo palliative interventions or surgeries. Many psychiatric and mental disorders could be seen in this group of patients. Furthermore, this could affect quality of life (QOL). Objectives Find out how prevalent anxiety and depression are among adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) patients and understand how it affects their lifestyle quality. Patients and Methods Observational case-control, cross-sectional study on 300 Adults with CHD vs 300 controls. Controls and patients were asked to fill three questionnaires to determine the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and QOL. Results Cases had higher anxiety and depression scores than controls and had poorer QOL than controls. Conclusion Congenital heart conditions adversely affect the QOL compared to a matched control group. Additionally, this cohort of patients suffers psychological distress, with more anxiety and depression in comparison to the control group. These results emphasize the drastic impact of CHD on the overall well- being of affected individuals, stressing upon the importance of holistic care that addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of their health.