Differences between Slovak and Dutch patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass graft surgery regarding clinical and psychosocial predictors of physical and mental health-related quality of life.
Noha El-Baz, Daniela Ondusova, Martin Studencan and 4 others
PMID 29231752WHAT IT FOUND
Slovak patients awaiting bypass surgery reported worse physical quality of life than Dutch patients, while mental scores were similar.
Smoking, depression, anxiety, low social support and a type D personality were linked to poorer quality of life.
Key findings
01Slovak patients reported worse physical quality of life than Dutch patients, while mental quality of life did not differ.
02Nationality was associated with poorer physical quality of life after adjustment, but not with mental quality of life.
03Anxiety, depression, type D personality and lower social support were linked to poorer physical and mental quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional study before surgery, so it cannot show that any factor caused worse quality of life or that an intervention would improve it. Response rates were 77.3% in Dutch patients and 87.4% in Slovak patients, and female patients were overrepresented among Dutch non-respondents, 33.3% versus 19.3%. The analysed samples excluded 86 Dutch valve patients and 108 Slovak Roma patients, so the results apply only to the remaining Dutch and Slovak bypass patients. Clinical indicators such as functional status and ejection fraction may have differed because of measurement method and staff training, as the authors note. All outcomes were self-reported questionnaires before surgery, with no post-surgical follow-up or objective clinical outcome.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding came from the Slovak Society of Cardiology in 2005, the Slovak Research and Development Agency under contract APVV-0220-10 for 80%, and the Slovak Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport through EU structural funds project ITMS: 26220120058 for 20%.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the Slovak patients' lower physical quality of life as proof that nationality or nurse-led care causes worse outcomes. The study measured patients before surgery and found associations only.