[Affective disorders in acute myocardial infarction and possibilities of their correction with tianeptin].

AIM

to study the prevalence, pattern of and trends in affective disorders (AD) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to assess whether they might be corrected with the antidepressant tianeptin.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The study enrolled 108 patients with AMI. To detect and evaluate affective spectrum disorders, all the enrolled patients were interviewed on days 2-3 of AMI, by using the screening questionnaire developed at the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry (MRIP), Russian Agency for Health Care, and 4-5 days and 2 and 6 months after the onset of AMI they underwent an in-depth psychopathological examination by a psychiatrist who applied the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS). To correct affective symptomatology in some patients with verified depression, the antidepressant tianeptin was added to the conventional therapy for AMI on its days 5-7.

RESULTS

The screening questionnaire study revealed depressive spectrum disorders in 45.4% of the patients with AMI. The in-depth psychopathological examination confirmed the presence of AD in 40.7%. Mild and moderate depressive episodes were observed in 26.9% of the patients and adjustment disorders were seen in 13.8%. The sensitivity and specificity of the MRIP screening questionnaire for the diagnosis of depressive spectrum disorders in patients with AIM was 86.2 and 69.6%, respectively. The concomitant symptoms of anxiety were detected in 27.8% of the patients with AMI. The duration of a course of antidepressant therapy with tianeptin averaged 3.9 +/- 1.1 months. Six moths after AMI, the tianeptin group a showed significant reduction in HDRS scores by 50% (p = 0.0013) and in HARS scores by 52.7% (p = 0.0004) versus the baseline values. During a follow-up, there was no significant decrease in HDRS and HARS scores in a group of patients who refused antidepressant therapy.

CONCLUSION

Affective spectrum disorders are most common in myocardial infarction (MI). The use of the MRIP screening questionnaire favors a more adequate diagnosis of depressive spectrum disorders in patients with AMI. Tianeptin therapy for AD concurrent with MI causes an evident reduction in psychopathological symptomatology and a statistically significant decrease in HDRS and HARS scores.