Health-related quality of life three years after coronary surgery: a comparison with the general population

Abstract

Objectives: To assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients three years after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) compared to the general Norwegian population, with emphasis on age and gender-differences.

Design: A cross-sectional postal survey of patients who underwent CABG in 2000. HRQOL was assessed using the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Subgroup analyses were performed according to age (<70 versus =70 years) and gender.

Results: Of 233 eligible patients 203 responded (mean age 67.6 years, 17% females). Patients reported better scores on bodily pain than the general population (p=0.008), but did not differ on other subscales of SF-36. Younger patients tended to score lower, older patients higher than the general population on HRQOL. Female patients reported lower HRQOL than the general female population and reported significantly lower scores than male patients on 3 of 8 subscales.

Conclusions: Three years after CABG the HRQOL is comparable to the general Norwegian population even in older patients. The older patients reported less pain than the general population.