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Description

<b>Abstract</b><br/>

<strong><span lang="EN-US">Background</span></strong></p>

<span lang="EN-US">Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have significantly lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to the general population and patients with other heart diseases. The research emphasis on the influence of AF symptoms on HRQoL overshadows the role of individual characteristics. To address this gap, this study’s purpose was to </span><span lang="EN-US">test an incremental predictive model </span><span lang="EN-US">for AF-related HRQoL following an adapted HRQoL conceptual model that incorporates both symptoms and individual characteristics.</span></p>

<strong><span lang="EN-US">Methods</span></strong></p>

<span lang="EN-US">Patients attending an AF specialty clinic were invited to complete an online survey. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine whether individual characteristics (overall mental health, perceived stress, sex, age, AF knowledge, household and recreational physical activity) incremented prediction of HRQoL and AF treatment satisfaction beyond AF symptom recency and overall health. </span></p>

<strong><span lang="EN-US">Results</span></strong></p>

Of 196 participants (mean age 65.3 years), 63% were male and 90% were Caucasian. Most reported ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ overall and mental health, had high overall AF knowledge scores, had <span lang="EN-US">low </span>perceived stress scores, and had high household and recreation physical activity. The mean overall AF Effect On Quality-Of-Life Questionnaire (<span lang="EN-US">AFEQT) and AF treatment satisfaction scores were 70.62 and 73.84, respectively. Recency of </span><span lang="EN-US">AF symptoms and overall health accounted for 29.6% of the variance in overall HRQoL and 20.2% of the variance in AF treatment satisfaction. Individual characteristics explained an additional 13.6% of the variance in overall HRQoL and 7.6% of the variance in AF treatment satisfaction. Perceived stress and household physical activity were the largest contributors to overall HRQoL, whereas age and AF knowledge made significant contributions to AF treatment satisfaction.</span></p>

<strong><span lang="EN-US">Conclusions</span></strong></p>

<span lang="EN-US">Along with AF symptoms and overall health, individual characteristics are important predictors of HRQoL and AF treatment satisfaction in AF patients. In particular, perceived stress and household physical activity </span><span lang="EN-US">could further be targeted as potential areas to improve HRQoL. </span></p>