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http://hdl.handle.net/1956/2669
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| Title: | Quality of life in female myocardial infarction survivors: a comparative study with a randomly selected general female population cohort |
| Authors: | Norekvål, Tone M.
Wahl, Astrid K.
Fridlund, Bengt
Nordrehaug, Jan E.
Wentzel-Larsen, Tore
Hanestad, Berit R. |
| Issue Date: | 30-Oct-2007 |
| Publisher: | BioMed Central |
| Citation: | Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2007, 5:58 |
| Abstract: | Background: A substantial burden associated with MI has been reported. Thus, how survivors
experience their quality of life (QOL) is now being given increasing attention. However, few studies
have involved women and a comparison with the general population. The aims of this study were
to determine the QOL of female MI survivors, to investigate whether their QOL differed from that
of the general population, and to evaluate the clinical significance of the findings.
Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were performed; on female MI survivors and the general
Norwegian population. The MI survey included women aged 62–80 years, three months to five
years after their MI. One hundred and forty-five women responded, yielding a response rate of
60%. A subset of women in the same age range (n = 156) was drawn from a study of 1893 randomly
selected Norwegian citizens. QOL was measured in both groups with the World Health
Organization Quality of Life Instrument Abbreviated (WHOQOL-BREF).
Results: The majority (54%) of the female MI survivors presented with ST-elevation in their ECG,
31% received thrombolysis, and 38% had reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. Female MI
survivors reported significantly lower satisfaction with general health (p = 0.020) and overall QOL
(p = 0.017) than women from the general population. This was also the case for the physical and
environmental QOL domains (p < 0.001), but not for the psychological and social relationship
domains. Estimated effect sizes between the two groups of participants ranged from 0.1 to -0.6.
Conclusion: The burden of MI significantly affects the physical health of elderly women. Still,
female MI survivors fare as well as the general female population on psychosocial QOL domains.
Action should be taken not only to support women's physical needs but also to reinforce their
strengths in order to maintain optimal QOL. |
| URI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-5-58
http://hdl.handle.net/1956/2669 |
| Appears in Collections: | Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care
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