Sign in Subscribe
Mental health

Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A new study published in the journal Hearts has shed light on the mental health of children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD), revealing that they do not exhibit significantly higher levels of depression or anxiety symptoms compared to healthy controls. The study, conducted by researchers at Deutsches Herzzentrum Munchen, aimed to assess differences in anxiety and depression symptoms between children and adolescents with CHD and healthy controls. The findings of the study suggest that ongoing mental health monitoring is crucial to enable early identification and timely intervention, particularly in light of the increased psychological risk observed in adults with CHD.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study enrolled 232 children and adolescents with CHD and 116 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, with a mean age of 13.5 ± 2.7 years and 50.9% female.
  • The CHD cohort included patients with various heart defects, such as right heart obstruction (11.2%), left heart obstruction (19.8%), and others.
  • At least a mild form of anxiety was present in 46.5% CHD patients, but no significant differences were observed between the CHD group and healthy controls in either depression or anxiety scores.
  • The complexity of the heart defect was not associated with anxiety or depression scores.
  • The study concluded that children and adolescents with CHD did not exhibit significantly higher levels of depression or anxiety symptoms compared to healthy controls, but ongoing mental health monitoring is essential to enable early identification and timely intervention.

Statistics:

  • The study enrolled 232 children and adolescents with CHD and 116 healthy controls.
  • 46.5% of CHD patients exhibited at least a mild form of anxiety.
  • No significant differences were observed between the CHD group and healthy controls in either depression (7.9 ± 7.7) or anxiety (9.3 ± 8.6) scores.

Sources:

  • NewsRx. Deutsches Herzzentrum Munchen Researchers Add New Study Findings to Research in Congenital Heart Disease (Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease). Mental Health Weekly Digest. October 13, 2025; p 26.
  • Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease. Hearts, 2025,6(3):23. DOI: 10.3390/hearts6030023.

Read more