Impact of depression in PH
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of depression on quality of life in & perception of illness in Pulmonary Hypertension: a cross-sectional study
IRAS ID
326610
Contact name
Luke Howard
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College Healthcare Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a life-long condition that can cause breathlessness, fatigue and, if untreated, death. It is well known that PH is associated with depression (35-55% of people report depression symptoms). Quality of Life (QoL) is currently measured in many centres by a PH-specific questionnaire called the EmPHasis-10. This reflects the disease-specific limitations that PH causes patients and affects their QoL. Depression presents other issues that may not be reflected in the EmPHasis-10 and so the EmPHasis-10 may not reflect a patients QoL. We want to understand how well the EmPHasis-10 score correlates with the PHQ-9 questionnaire and the b-IPQ. These are questionnaires designed and validated to reflect symptoms of depression (PHQ-9) and also how patients perceive and understand their illness (b-IPQ). Patients will be identified from the current cohort of patients with PH at the National Pulmonary Hypertension Service at Hammersmith Hospital. We would include all patients over 18 years and willing and able to give informed consent. Patients will be contacted via email/SMS/phone, provided with a brief summary of the project and asked to download the iOWNA app. Once this is downloaded, patients will be send a short video explanation and written patient information sheets. They will then be asked for e-consent within the app. After informed consent, we will send all patients the EmPHasis-10, PHQ-9 and the b-IPQ questionnaires via iOWNA. The results will automatically be sent back to iOWNA and stored. To maintain confidentiality, pseudonymised results will be sent from iOWNA to the research team for analysis. The results will be assessed for correlation between the EmPHasis-10 and the PHQ-9 and also the b-IPQ. This work will help us understand how well the EmPHasis-10 reflects quality of life in people with PH and depression and an individual’s perception of their illness.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0774
Date of REC Opinion
20 Feb 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion