Latent change models of lifestyle in acute coronary syndrome patients: Are lifestyle changes associated with resilience changes?

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the role of resilience resources in patients' lifestyle changes after the first Acute Coronary event. 275 Italian patients (84.0% men; mean age = 57.5, SD = 7.9) participated in a longitudinal study. Resilience resources (Self-esteem, Dispositional Optimism, Sense of Coherence – SOC, General and Disease-specific Self-efficacy), and lifestyles (diet, physical activity, and smoking) were assessed twice (at baseline and after 6 months). Path analysis using latent change models was performed to model the combined effect of levels and changes of the resilience resources over lifestyle changes. Patients with strong SOC at baseline were less prone to smoke and more prone to decrease smoking; enhancement in SOC was associated with a smoking decrease. High Disease-specific Self-efficacy at baseline was associated with an improvement in all lifestyles; enhancement in Disease-specific Self-efficacy predicted an increase in physical activity. Findings underline the need to design psychological interventions that promote patients' Disease-specific Self-efficacy and SOC.

Acute coronary syndrome: Definition, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management

“…A healthy diet, especially the Mediterranean diet, has been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk in all patients. Continuing physical activity after cardiovascular rehabilitation is crucial because sedentary behaviour increases cardiovascular risk [44].…”

Associations Between Psychological Factors and Adherence to Health Behaviors After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: The Role of Cardiac Rehabilitation

“…For example, optimism , resilience , and cardiac self-efficacy have been shown to be associated with healthier behaviors, but their importance varies with the associated behavior [ 22–24 ]. Optimism, cardiac self-efficacy, and resilience have been related to physical activity and healthy dietary habits [ 22 , 25 , 26 ], whereas resilience has additionally been related to smoking cessation [ 23 ]. These psychological factors have mainly been related to the uptake of health behaviors through correlational research, but longitudinal research on adherence to health behaviors is sparse.…”