Profile of adults with congenital heart disease having a good, moderate, or poor quality of life: a cluster analytic study.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study was to assess the profile of adult patients with congenital heart disease who reported a good, moderate, or poor quality of life.


METHODS
We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a large-scale quality-of-life study that included 627 patients. Demographic and clinical variables were retrieved from the medical records and functional status from patient interviews. Overall quality of life was measured using a Linear Analogue Scale. Using K-means cluster analysis, we categorized subjects into a 3-cluster solution: good, moderate, or poor quality of life.


RESULTS
Four hundred ninety patients (78.1%) clustered into the good quality-of-life category; 126 patients (20.1%) clustered into the moderate quality-of-life category; and 11 patients (1.8%) clustered into the poor quality-of-life category. Poorer quality of life was associated with lower educational level, unemployment or disability, associated syndromes, instability of the heart disease, and a poorer functional status.


CONCLUSIONS
Over three-quarters of the patients had a good quality of life, whereas only a small proportion had a poor quality of life. Specific demographic and clinical characteristics associated with a poor quality of life could assists in identifying patients at risk for developing a poor quality of life.
Moons
Philip
P
Centre for Health Services and Nursing Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35 box 7001, Leuven B-3000, Belgium. Philip.Moons@med.kuleuven.be
Van Deyk
Kristien
K
Marquet
Kristel
K
De Bleser
Leentje
L
De Geest
Sabina
S
Budts
Werner
W
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014478:Unemployment; D055815:Young Adult