Livskvalitet hos kvinnor och män före och efter hjärtrehabilitering - en enkätstudie

by Ågren, Johanna; Olsson, Johanna

The aim of the study was to compare how patients with coronary artery disease rated their quality of life before and after participating in a 12 month cardiac rehabilitation program and to compare how women and men rated their quality of life. The sample consisted of 117 patients (35 women and 82 men) who participated in a cardiac rehabilitations program at Hälsoinvest Högbo AB between the years 1996-2001. Quality of life was measured using the QLQ-AP questionnaire (Quality of Life Questionnaire - Angina Pectoris). QLQ-AP is a disease-specific instrument and the 22 questions are grouped into a global score and four different subscales: physical activity, somatic symptoms, emotional distress and life satisfaction. The study showed a significant improvement of quality of life among the participants (n=117) for the global score and the four subscales of the QLQ-AP following cardiac rehabilitation. No significant differences in rated quality of life were seen between women and men, neither before nor after attending the rehabilitation program. The women, however, only showed a significant improvement of quality of life for the subscale emotional distress while the men showed a significant improvement of quality of life for the global score as well as for the four subscales. Conclusion: In this study, the rated quality of life improved after attending a cardiac rehabilitation program. However, the men improved in more aspects than the women did.