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Health‐related quality of life in patients with congestive heart failure
Author(s) -
Lee Diana T.F.,
Yu Doris S.F.,
Woo Jean,
Thompson David R.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
european journal of heart failure
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.149
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1879-0844
pISSN - 1388-9842
DOI - 10.1016/j.ejheart.2004.08.004
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , heart failure , quality of life (healthcare) , psychological distress , grading (engineering) , distress , social support , health related quality of life , cross sectional study , disease , physical therapy , clinical psychology , psychiatry , mental health , nursing , civil engineering , psychology , pathology , psychotherapist , engineering
Background: Despite abundant evidence attesting to poor physical, psychological and social functioning of congestive heart failure (CHF) patients, little is known about the impact of the disease itself on health‐related quality of life (HRQL). Most previous work has focused on general quality of life issues rather than specifically on the impact of CHF on HRQL. Aim: To identify the significant demographic, clinical and psychosocial factors associated with HRQL in patients with CHF. Methods: A total of 227 CHF patients were recruited from the medical unit of a general hospital in Hong Kong. Cross‐sectional data on HRQL, functional status, psychological state, social support and health perception were obtained from each patient and clinical data were obtained from hospital records. Results: In hierarchical regression analysis, psychological distress, poor health perception, higher NYHA grading and lower education level were identified as the significant factors associated with poorer HRQL. These correlates in total explained 52% of the variance for the HRQL scores. Among these correlates, psychological distress and NYHA grading demonstrated the greatest effect on HRQL scores. Conclusion: The findings highlight the significance of addressing the psychological and functional health of CHF patients. Assisting these patients to cultivate a positive attitude towards their own health status is also an important treatment goal.