Korean J Adult Nurs.  2020 Apr;32(2):199-208. 10.7475/kjan.2020.32.2.199.

Lifestyle and Quality of Life in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Propensity-Matched Comparison with a Healthy Control Group

• Choi SH
• Hwang SY

• KMID: 2500994
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7475/kjan.2020.32.2.199

Abstract

Purpose
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and quality of life after receiving acute treatment is important in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). This study aims to compare the lifestyle and the quality of life of CAD patients with those of healthy people through a propensity-matched comparison.
Methods
This study is a secondary analysis of the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted with 23,657 subjects from 2015 to 2017. A propensity-matched comparison was conducted for 472 CAD patients and 941 healthy individuals using 1:2 matching of nine sociodemographic characteristics. R program version 3.6.2 was used for statistical analysis and an independent t-test was employed to examine the differences between the relevant variables of the two matched groups.
Results
The rate of aerobic physical activity, the levels of quality of life, and the subjective health condition of the CAD patients were significantly lower as compared to the healthy group (p<.001). The degree of perceived stress was higher in patients with CAD than those in the healthy group (p<.001). However, no statistical difference was found in smoking and drinking behavior and body mass index.
Conclusion
This study found that the CAD group's level of physical activity is lower and their emotional health conditions are worse than those of healthy people. Therefore, relevant support, including follow-up intervention programs, is required for CAD patients to prevent secondary adverse cardiac events and to maintain a healthier life.

Keyword

Coronary artery disease; Myocardial infarction; Lifestyle; Quality of life