An unbalanced time-perspective profile in cardiac surgery patients as a risk factor for depression

Abstract

Introduction Depression is one of common comorbid states that accompany cardiovascular diseases. Risk of co-morbidity can rise when patients have to undergo heart surgery, which is an additional stress-factor. Objectives To specify psychological correlations between depressive manifestations in cardiac surgery patients based on the analysis of their time perspective profile. Methods Using the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, we examined 60 cardiac surgery inpatients (80% male, mean age 58.25±10.55). We calculated the statistical estimation of the received data based on the comparison with the norm and the correlation analysis. Results The research revealed that cardiac surgery patients’ indices significantly exceeded the norm on three out of five scales – Negative-Past (t=4.405; p=.000), Positive-Past (t=3.536; p=.000), and Future (t=5.008; p=.000). We also identified essential correlations between the level of depression and the indices of Negative-Past (r=.390; p=.002) and Positive-Past (r=-.270; p=.037). We distinguished a positive correlation of the negative attitude to the past with cognitive-affective (r=.369; p=.004) and somatic (r=.338; p=.008) manifestations of depression, and a negative correlation with the level of education (r=-.292; p=.024). Conclusions The personal time perspective profile in cardiac surgery patients is unbalanced due to a high level of their negative attitude to the past with an optimal level in other time perspectives. The degree of the Negative-Past attitude correlates in the patients with a low level of education and a high risk of depression in all its manifestations. The given correlations should be taken into account when conducting preventive psychological interventions. Disclosure No significant relationships.

Keywords

• risk factor
• time perspective
• Depression
• cardiac surgery patients