Illness perceptions among cardiac patients: relation to depressive symptomatology and sex.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined cardiovascular disease (CVD) illness perceptions and how they relate to depressive symptomatology among women and men.


METHODS
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients at two hospitals were approached, and 661 consented to participate (504 men, 157 women; 75% response rate). Participants completed a survey including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ).


RESULTS
Women perceived a significantly more chronic course (P<.001) and more cyclical episodes (P<.05) than men did, while men perceived greater personal control (P<.001) and treatability (P<.05) than women did. Participants perceived diet, heredity, and stress as the greatest CVD causes. For women (F=5.49, P<.001), greater depressive symptomatology was significantly related to younger age (P<.05), lower activity status (P<.001), and perceiving a chronic time course (P<.01). For men (F=7.68, P<.001), greater depressive symptomatology was significantly related to being non-white (P<.05), lower activity status (P<.001), less exercise behavior (P=.01), and three illness perceptions, namely, perceiving a chronic course (P<.05), greater consequences (P<.001), and lower treatability (P<.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Women, compared with men, are more likely to attribute CVD to causes beyond their control and to perceive CVD as a chronic, untreatable condition. Illness perceptions were related to depressive symptomatology, which suggests that interventions to reframe these perceptions may be warranted to improve emotional health in the context of CVD.
Grace
Sherry L
SL
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3. sgrace@yorku.ca
Krepostman
Suzan
S
Brooks
Dina
D
Arthur
Heather
H
Scholey
Pat
P
Suskin
Neville
N
Jaglal
Susan
S
Abramson
Beth L
BL
Stewart
Donna E
DE
D000208:Acute Disease; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires