TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychosocial Factors in Heart Surgery
T2 - Presurgical Vulnerability and Postsurgical Recovery
AU - Contrada, Richard J.
AU - Boulifard, David A.
AU - Hekler, Eric B.
AU - Idler, Ellen L.
AU - Spruill, Tanya M.
AU - Labouvie, Erich W.
AU - Krause, Tyrone J.
PY - 2008/5
Y1 - 2008/5
N2 - Objective: Distress and low perceived social support were examined as indicators of psychosocial vulnerability in patients about to undergo heart surgery. Design: A total of 550 study patients underwent heart surgeries, including bypass grafting and valve procedures. Psychosocial interviews were conducted about five days before surgery, and biomedical data were obtained from hospital records. Main Outcome Measures: Sociodemographic, personality, religious, and biomedical factors were evaluated as predictors of psychosocial vulnerability, and all five sets of variables were evaluated as contributors to hospital length of stay (LOS). Results: Patients scoring higher on one or more indicator of presurgical psychosocial vulnerability were younger, more likely to be female, less likely to be married, less well educated, lower in dispositional optimism, higher in trait anger, and lower in religiousness. Older age, depression, low support, and low trait anger each showed an independent, prospective association with greater LOS, and several other predictors had prospective relationships with LOS that were statistically mediated by depression or perceived support. Conclusion: Evidence that multiple psychosocial factors may influence adaptation to heart surgery has implications for understanding and ameliorating presurgical distress and for improving postsurgical recovery.
AB - Objective: Distress and low perceived social support were examined as indicators of psychosocial vulnerability in patients about to undergo heart surgery. Design: A total of 550 study patients underwent heart surgeries, including bypass grafting and valve procedures. Psychosocial interviews were conducted about five days before surgery, and biomedical data were obtained from hospital records. Main Outcome Measures: Sociodemographic, personality, religious, and biomedical factors were evaluated as predictors of psychosocial vulnerability, and all five sets of variables were evaluated as contributors to hospital length of stay (LOS). Results: Patients scoring higher on one or more indicator of presurgical psychosocial vulnerability were younger, more likely to be female, less likely to be married, less well educated, lower in dispositional optimism, higher in trait anger, and lower in religiousness. Older age, depression, low support, and low trait anger each showed an independent, prospective association with greater LOS, and several other predictors had prospective relationships with LOS that were statistically mediated by depression or perceived support. Conclusion: Evidence that multiple psychosocial factors may influence adaptation to heart surgery has implications for understanding and ameliorating presurgical distress and for improving postsurgical recovery.
KW - coronary artery bypass surgery
KW - distress
KW - hospital length of stay
KW - psychosocial factors
KW - valve surgery
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U2 - 10.1037/0278-6133.27.3.309
DO - 10.1037/0278-6133.27.3.309
M3 - Article
C2 - 18624595
AN - SCOPUS:47949108546
SN - 0278-6133
VL - 27
SP - 309
EP - 319
JO - Health Psychology
JF - Health Psychology
IS - 3
ER -