Health behavior and health-related quality of life in patients with a high risk of cardiovascular disease

Abstract

BackgroundHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) is measuring a patient’s experience of his health status and represents an outcome of medical interventions. Existing data proves that a healthy lifestyle is positively associated with HRQoL in all age groups. Patients with a high risk for cardiovascular disease typically led an unhealthy lifestyle combined with risk diseases. We aimed to analyse these characteristics and their reflection in HRQoL.MethodsA cross-sectional study in 36 family practices, stratified by location and size. Each practice invited 30 high-risk patients from the register. Data were obtained from medical records and patient questionnaire. The EQ-5D questionnaire and the VAS scale were used for measuring the patient’s HRQoL as an independent variable.Results871 patients (80.6% response rate) were included in the analysis. 60.0% had 3-4 uncontrolled risk factors for CVD. The average VAS scale was 63.2 (SD 19.4). The correlation of EQ-5D was found in the number of visits in the practice (r=-0.31, p<0.001), the socioeconomic status (r=-0.25, p=0.001), age (r=-0.27, p=0.001) and healthy diet (r=0.20, p=0.006). In a multivariate model, only physical activity among lifestyle characteristics was an independent predictor of HRQoL (p=0.001, t=3.3), along with the frequency of visits (p<0.001, t=-5.3) and age (p=0.025, t=-2.2).ConclusionThis study has been performed on a specific group of patients, not being “really sick”, but having less optimal lifestyle in many cases. Encouragement to improve or keep healthy lifestyle, especially physical activity, is important, not only to lower the risk for CVD, but also to improve HRQoL.

Development of an Algorithm for Determining of Genetic Risk at the Primary Healthcare Level – A New Tool for Primary Prevention: A Study Protocol

“…It has already been shown that healthy people with a less optimal lifestyle should also be encouraged to improve their lifestyle as this would improve their health-related quality of life (28).…”

Health-related quality of life and its influencing factors in individuals with high cardiovascular disease risk: a cross-sectional study based on EQ-5D utility scores in Inner Mongolia, China

“…This scale is an essential tool for evaluating HRQoL with the advantages of simplicity, ease of operation, and high reliability. The EQ-5D-3L scale contains ve dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression); each dimension has three levels of response or severity: no problems, some/moderate problems, and severe problems [14,7].…”

“…Therefore, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has gained increased attention as a critical indicator in the evaluation of CVD [6]. HRQoL is a multifactorial concept that includes physical and mental health, symptoms, functional status, and overall health perception [7][8][9]. Studies have revealed that CVD is signi cantly associated with impaired HRQoL [10][11][12][13].…”

Association between Oral Health-Related and Health-Related Quality of Life

“…Environmental, behavioral, and personal factors influence both oral and general health, and oral health is also considered a “window” to overall health ( 1 , 2 ). The overlap between oral health and general health can be assessed with the constructs Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) ( 3 , 4 ) and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) ( 5 , 6 ), respectively, that is, how much OHRQoL data could explain HRQoL, and vice versa ( 1 , 2 , 7 ). Knowing the magnitude of the OHRQOL-HRQOL relationship would enable a more patient-centered treatment approach for patients in general and dental patients, specifically.…”