Abstract
Health-related quality of life (QoL) is an important and widely used outcome measure in cardiac populations. We examined the
relationship between positive affect and health-related quality of life, controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors,
clinical variables and negative affect. We further investigated the role of gender in this relationship given the well-known
gender differences in cardiovascular health. We enrolled 746 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) before they entered
outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. All patients completed the Global Mood Scale and the SF-36 Health Survey. Positive affect
was independently associated with mental (p < .001) and physical QoL (p < .001) after controlling for control variables. Gender moderated the relationship between positive affect and physical QoL
(p = .009) but not mental QoL (p = .60). Positive affect was positively associated with physical QoL in men (p < .001) but not in women (p = .44). The health-related QoL of patients with CHD is associated with a person’s level of positive affect.
relationship between positive affect and health-related quality of life, controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors,
clinical variables and negative affect. We further investigated the role of gender in this relationship given the well-known
gender differences in cardiovascular health. We enrolled 746 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) before they entered
outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. All patients completed the Global Mood Scale and the SF-36 Health Survey. Positive affect
was independently associated with mental (p < .001) and physical QoL (p < .001) after controlling for control variables. Gender moderated the relationship between positive affect and physical QoL
(p = .009) but not mental QoL (p = .60). Positive affect was positively associated with physical QoL in men (p < .001) but not in women (p = .44). The health-related QoL of patients with CHD is associated with a person’s level of positive affect.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-9
- DOI 10.1007/s10880-012-9311-6
- Authors
- Stefanie Stauber, Department of General Internal Medicine, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
- Jean-Paul Schmid, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Hugo Saner, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Hansjörg Znoj, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Gaby Saner, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Johannes Grolimund, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Roland von Känel, Department of General Internal Medicine, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
- Journal Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
- Online ISSN 1573-3572
- Print ISSN 1068-9583