The effect of acceptance of illness on the quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure

Background: Although important, a relationship between acceptance of illness and quality of life has not been studied extensively in individuals with chronic heart failure. Aims: The aim of this study was to analyse an association between these two variables in a large group of individuals with at least a six-month history of heart failure. Methods: The study included 100 patients (68 men and 32 women, mean age 63.212.2 years) with at least six months' clinical evidence of heart failure corresponding to New York Heart Association class II, III or IV. All the patients were examined with the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) questionnaire and Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS). Results: The patients presenting with low levels of acceptance of illness (8-18 points) scored significantly higher on the energy, pain, emotional reaction, sleep, social isolation and mobility domains of the NHP. Multivariate analysis showed that acceptance of illness was the only independent predictor of quality of life in all the NHP domains: energy (= -0.653, p<0.001), pain (= -1.464, p<0.001), emotional reactions ( -1.738, p<0.001), sleep (= -0.820, p<0.001), social isolation (= -0.638, p<0.001) and mobility (= -1.739, p<0.001). Male gender proved to be an independent predictor of lower pain scores (= -1.320, p= 0.001) and divorce was associated with higher social isolation scores (=1.948, p<0.001). Conclusion: The extent a patient accepts their chronic heart failure diagnosis has been shown to impact on their quality of life.