Fear of movement and its associated psychosocial factors in heart failure patients: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aims Fear of movement is a significant obstacle to daily activities, which may lead to adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of fear of movement and to identify psychosocial factors associated with fear of movement in heart failure patients. Methods and results In this cross-sectional study, a total of 305 heart failure patients were recruited from three cardiovascular units of a university hospital. Self-reported questionnaires were used to measure fear of movement, cardiac anxiety, depressive symptoms, subjective social status, education, monthly income, and employment status. The results showed that 178 (58.4%) patients were accompanied with fear of movement. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that scores for cardiac anxiety (β=0.254, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (β=0.308, p < 0.001), as well as being employed (β=0.186, p < 0.001) were positively associated with fear of movement score, while the score for subjective social status (β=-0.101, p = 0.038) was negatively associated with fear of movement score. The four independent variables accounted for 30.3% of the variance in fear of movement. Conclusions Fear of movement is common in patients with heart failure. Cardiac anxiety, depressive symptoms, subjective social status, and employment status were associated with patients’ fear of movement. This indicates that measures should be taken to screen and manage patients’ fear of movement. Furthermore, alleviating cardiac anxiety and depressive symptoms may be important to consider in relieving fear of movement in heart failure patients, especially for those who are employed and with low subjective social status.

Mediation analysis of activities of daily living and kinesiophobia in association between cardiac function and health status of patients with chronic heart failure

“…Specifically, individuals in occupations such as workers and farmers, those with lower levels of education, and those with lower current per capita monthly household income were found to be more vulnerable to kinesiophobia among patients with HF. These findings are consistent with prior research conducted by Zhang et al 17 The primary factors contributing to this phenomenon are as follows: Individuals exhibiting these clinical characteristics often find themselves in a socially disadvantaged and insecure position, burdened by significant economic and psychological challenges. Consequently, they face increased difficulty in managing potential exercise‐related adverse events.…”

“…Specifically, individuals in occupations such as workers and farmers, those with lower levels of education, and those with lower current per capita monthly household income were found to be more vulnerable to kinesiophobia among patients with HF. These findings are consistent with prior research conducted by Zhang et al17 The primary factors contributing to this phenomenon are as follows: Individuals exhibiting these clinical Correlations among the cardiac function, health status, ADL and kinesiophobia of CHF patients (n = 244).…”

Coming back for more: factors linked to higher participation among Veterans with chronic pain in an innovative VA-YMCA wellness clinic

“…Pain and depression symptoms are often reported as a barrier for patients to overcome to participate in external activities across clinical conditions. [22][23][24] Next steps include additional planning and development of referral networks among the clinical staff and direct to consumer marketing communications to reach a catchment of Veterans with chronic pain and those with a history of pain and depression. Finally, the Indianapolis metropolitan area is composed of a series of YMCA facilities which provides a network to expand this feasible pain treatment delivery model.…”

Measurement properties of assessment tools of Kinesophobia in patients with cardiovascular disease: A systematic review

“…Risk factors for kinesiophobia in patients with CVD are not fully understood. However, researchers [ 17 , 21 , 22 ] suggest potential links to biological factors such as age, fatigue, and disease severity, as well as psychosocial factors including education level, depressive symptoms, cardiac anxiety, social support experience, fear of pain, and subjective social status.…”