Purpose: 

The objective of this study was to investigate sex and age differences in anxiety and depression among patients with cardiovascular disease at baseline and following aerobic interval training (AIT)-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and secondarily to compare dropout rates between sexes and age groups.

Methods: 

Participants were younger (≤44 yr), middle-aged (45-64 yr), and older adults (≥65 yr). The AIT protocol consisted of: 4 × 4-min of high-intensity work periods at 85-95% peak heart rate (HR) interspersed with 3 min of lower-intensity intervals at 60-70% peak HR, twice weekly for 10 wk. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at baseline and following CR.

Results: 

At baseline, of 164 participants (32% female), 14 (35% female) were younger, 110 (33% female) were middle-aged, and 40 (30% female) were older. Older adults reported lower anxiety levels versus younger (4.4 ± 2.6 vs 7.8 ± 3.4 points, P = .008) and middle-aged adults (4.4 ± 2.6 vs 6.1 ± 3.6 points, P = .05). Baseline depression levels did not differ between age groups (P = .749). All age groups experienced a reduction in anxiety (younger =−2.67; middle-aged =−1.40; older =−0.85) and depression (younger =−1.50; middle-aged =−0.83; older =−0.70) levels following CR. Differences in dropout rates were observed between age groups (χ²[1] = 13.4, P = .001). Within each age group, 43% (female n = 2, male n = 4) of younger, 10% (female n = 8, male n = 3) of middle-aged, and 2.5% (female n = 0, male n = 1) of older participants dropped out.

Conclusions: 

Younger and middle-aged adults experience higher levels of anxiety upon entry into CR compared with older adults. Cardiac rehabilitation was associated with significant reductions in anxiety and depression severity, yet dropout rates were highest among younger adults.

中文翻译：

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心脏康复有氧间歇训练前后焦虑和抑郁水平的性别和年龄差异

目的： 

本研究的目的是调查心血管疾病患者在基线和基于有氧间歇训练 (AIT) 的心脏康复 (CR) 后焦虑和抑郁的性别和年龄差异，其次是比较性别和年龄组之间的辍学率。

方法： 

参与者为年轻（≤44 岁）、中年（45-64 岁）和老年人（≥65 岁）。AIT 方案包括： 4 × 4 分钟的高强度工作时段，85-95% 的峰值心率 (HR) 穿插 3 分钟的 60-70% 峰值心率 (HR) 的低强度间歇，每周两次，持续 10 周. 在基线和 CR 后使用医院焦虑和抑郁量表评估焦虑和抑郁。

结果： 

在基线时，164 名参与者（32% 女性）中，14 名（35% 女性）年轻，110 名（33% 女性）中年，40 名（30% 女性）年龄较大。老年人报告的焦虑水平低于年轻人（4.4 ± 2.6 vs 7.8 ± 3.4 分，P = .008）和中年人（4.4 ± 2.6 vs 6.1 ± 3.6 分，P = .05）。不同年龄组的基线抑郁水平没有差异（P = .749）。CR 后，所有年龄组的焦虑（年轻 =-2.67；中年 =-1.40；年长 =-0.85）和抑郁（年轻 =-1.50；中年 =-0.83；年长 =-0.70）水平均有所降低。不同年龄组的辍学率存在差异（χ ² [1] = 13.4，P= .001)。在每个年龄组中，43%（女性 n = 2，男性 n = 4）年轻，10%（女性 n = 8，男性 n = 3）中年，2.5%（女性 n = 0，男性 n = 1) 的年长参与者退出。

结论： 

与老年人相比，年轻人和中年人在进入 CR 时会经历更高程度的焦虑。心脏康复与焦虑和抑郁严重程度的显着降低有关，但年轻人的辍学率最高。