title: Health-related quality of life in elderly Chinese patients with heart failure.
abstract: Heart failure (HF) has a profound impact on patients' health-related quality of life (HRQL). Little is known about factors relating to HRQL in elderly Chinese HF patients. The objective of this cross-sectional correlational study was to identify the demographic, psychosocial, and clinical factors associated with HRQL in this group of patients. Cross-sectional data were obtained from a consecutive sample of hospitalized HF patients (n = 227) with measures of HRQL, psychological distress, perceived social support, and health perception. Functional status was measured with the New York Heart Association Classification (NYHA). In stepwise regression analysis, four variables, including psychological distress, health perception, NYHA classification, and educational level explained 51.8% (p =.01) of the variance in HRQL. These findings suggest that improving HRQL of HF patients entails improving their psychological status, functional status, and health perception.
authors.affiliation: The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Doris S F
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Diana T F
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Woo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life