title: Psycho-social factors are important for the perception of disease in patients with acute coronary disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is presently known about determinants of cardiac illness perceptions, especially regarding psycho-social factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaire study among 97 consecutively recruited inpatients (72.2% male; mean age 60.6 years) with acute coronary syndrome. We examined the role of socio-demographic, illness-related and psycho-social factors (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, General Self-Efficacy Scale and Life Orientation Test-Revised) for perceived consequences, controllability and causes (Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire) with standard multiple regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In final models, dispositional pessimism was associated with perceptions of more severe consequences, less personal control and more attribution of illness to immune system factors. Dispositional optimism was associated with less severe perceived consequences. Higher general self-efficacy was associated with less attribution of illness to psychological factors, smoking and poor medical care. Greater perceived social support was associated with higher perceived treatment control and less attribution of illness to immune system factors, poor medical care, chance and accident. Also, gender, educational status, previous heart disease and family history of cardiovascular disease were significantly related to illness perceptions, whereas present disease severity (Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events) was not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psycho-social resources and illness history were more important determinants of cardiac illness perceptions than present disease severity.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  This study was supported by unrestricted grants from The FOOD Study Group and The Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries; The Beckett-Foundation; and The Augustinus Foundation.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Not relevant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, -Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark. sidsel@psy.au.dk.
authors.forename: Sidsel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bekke-Hansen
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weinman
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thastum
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thygesen
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zachariae
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires