Older age, lack of employment, no marriage history, and worse NYHA functional class were associated with lower quality of life in adults with congenital heart disease (p < 0.001).
Cross-Sectional (n=4,028)
Yes
p-value: p=<0.001
Quality of Life of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease in 15 Countries Evaluating Country-Specific Characteristics Apers, Silke; Kovacs, Adrienne H.; Luyckx, Koen; Thomet, Corina; Budts, Werner; Enomoto, Junko; Sluman, Maayke A.; Wang, Jou-Kou; Jackson, Jamie L.; Khairy, Paul; Cook, Stephen C.; Chidambarathanu, Shanthi; Alday, Luis; Eriksen, Katrine; Dellborg, Mikael; Berghammer, Malin; Mattsson, Eva; Mackie, Andrew S.; Menahem, Samuel; Caruana, Maryanne; Veldtman, Gruschen; Soufi, Alexandra; Romfh, Anitra W.; White, Kamila; E. Callus Writing – Review Kutty, Shelby; Fieuws, Steffen; Moons, Philip 2016 Abstract Background Measuring quality of life (QOL) is fundamental to understanding the impact of disease and treatment on patients' lives. Objectives This study aimed to explore QOL in an international sample of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD), the association between patient characteristics and QOL, and international variation in QOL and its relationship to country-specific characteristics. Methods We enrolled 4,028 adults with CHD from 15 countries. QOL was assessed using a linear analog scale (LAS) (0 to 100) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) (5 to 35). Patient characteristics included sex, age, marital status, educational level, employment status, CHD complexity, and patient-reported New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class. Country-specific characteristics included general happiness and 6 cultural dimensions. Linear mixed models were applied. Results Median QOL was 80 on the LAS and 27 on the SWLS. Older age, lack of employment, no marriage history, and worse NYHA functional class were associated with lower QOL (p < 0.001). Patients from Australia had the highest QOL (LAS: 82) and patients from Japan the lowest (LAS: 72). Happiness scores and cultural dimensions were not associated with variation in QOL after adjustment for patient characteristics and explained only an additional 0.1% of the variance above and beyond patient characteristics (p = 0.56). Conclusions This large-scale, international study found that overall QOL in adults with CHD was generally good. Variation in QOL was related to patient characteristics but not country-specific characteristics. Hence, patients at risk for poorer QOL can be identified using uniform criteria. General principles for designing interventions to improve QOL can be developed.
“Apers et al. should be commended in their scientifically rigorous attempt to use a uniform, standardized and consistent approach, and in utilizing two well-validated QOL tools: the linear analog scale (LAS) and the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). In addition, this is the now the largest study and the first global study in this field enrolling 4,028 patients from 15 countries across five continents.”
Apers et al. (Sun,) conducted a cross-sectional in Congenital heart disease (n=4,028). Patient and country-specific characteristics was evaluated on Quality of life (QOL) assessed using a linear analog scale (LAS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) (p=<0.001). Older age, lack of employment, no marriage history, and worse NYHA functional class were associated with lower quality of life in adults with congenital heart disease (p < 0.001).
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