Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) are considered predictors of CAD prognosis. Unhealthy lifestyles and type-D personality are associated with MetS and are potential causes of primary and secondary CAD. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between behavioral-psychological variables and predictors of CAD prognosis. The behavioral-psychological variable set contained six lifestyle categories and two type-D personality categories. Descriptive analyses, t-tests, analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation, and canonical correlation were used. The behavioral-psychological variable set was related to the predictor set for CAD prognosis, with a significant canonical variate of 0.67 (45% overlapping variance). Significant pairs of canonical variates indicated that poor physical activity and weight control (−0.77), poor dietary habits (−0.78), alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking (−0.37), lack of sleep and rest (−0.40), stress (−0.64) in the lifestyle set, higher negative affectivity (0.52), and social inhibition (0.71) in the type-D personality set were associated with a high MetS score (0.59) and severity of CAD (0.91). A combination of behavioral and psychological variables was found to be important in predicting the prognosis of CAD; therefore, interventions aimed at preventing combinations of these variables may be effective in improving CAD prognosis.

Purpose:The purposes of this study were to investigate the moderating effect of lifestyle and Type-D personality on the relation between metabolic syndrome and severity of coronary artery disease and to provide practical knowledge and directions for nursing intervention. Methods: The participants were 111 adult outpatients with coronary artery disease in the cardiology department of a medical center in Korea. The study tools included diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome, lifestyle evaluation tool for patients with metabolic syndrome, the Korean Type-D scale-14, and measures of severity of coronary artery disease. The data were obtained by electronic medical record reviews and surveys using structured questionnaires and interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, x 2 test, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression analysis and two-way ANOVA. Results: The severity of coronary artery disease was positively correlated with the presence of metabolic syndrome (r=.26, p=.006) and type-D personality (r=.49, p<.001). There was a significant negative correlation (r=-.54, p<.001) between the severity of coronary artery disease and lifestyle. Lifestyle had the moderating effect on the relationship between metabolic syndrome and severity of coronary artery disease (β=-.22, p<.001), but type-D personality had no moderating effect (F=0.13, p=.719) on it. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to establish individualized intervention considering the condition of the patients according to the criteria of the metabolic syndrome diagnosis when establishing the lifestyle intervention plan. And also it is necessary to define influencing factors including the personality on lifestyle change.