The effect of self-efficacy on cardiovascular lifestyle.
BACKGROUND
It is important that patients with vascular diseases adopt a healthy lifestyle so as to reduce vascular risk. Since self-efficacy is an important precondition for health behavior change in patients with chronic disease, we investigated whether self-efficacy was associated with cardiovascular lifestyle in patients with clinical manifestations of vascular diseases.


METHODS
In this observational cohort study, 125 patients who had recently been referred for cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease, or peripheral arterial disease participated in a 1-year self-management intervention. They completed a self-efficacy questionnaire and questions about their cardiovascular lifestyle at baseline and after 1 year. Logistic regression analyses were performed to quantify the impact of change in self-efficacy on physical activity, smoking behavior, alcohol consumption, and food choices.


RESULTS
Improved self-efficacy was associated with improved adherence to guidelines for physical activity (OR 3.5, 95%CI 1.0-11.0) and food choices (B 0.15, 95%CI 0.00-0.31). No such improvement was seen regarding adherence to guidelines for smoking or alcohol intake.


CONCLUSIONS
In patients with vascular diseases, improvements in self-efficacy are associated with an improvement in cardiovascular lifestyle, namely, more exercise and better food choices.
Sol
Berna G M
BG
Department of Vascular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. B.Sol@umcutrecht.nl
van der Graaf
Yolanda
Y
van Petersen
Rutger
R
Visseren
Frank L J
FL
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000072038:Cardiac Rehabilitation; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015444:Exercise; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking