Objective: To examine gender differences in clinical characteristics and physiological and psychosocial outcomes at entry into phase II cardiac rehabilitation.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Subjects: The study comprised 442 consecutive patients with cardiac diseases assessed at entry into a phase II cardiac rehabilitation programme.
Methods: Clinical characteristics of the patients, such as age, education, marital status, employment and body mass index, were obtained from hospital records. Oxygen uptake, handgrip and knee extensor muscle strength were measured to assess physiological outcomes. Self-efficacy for physical activity, hospital anxiety depression scale and health-related quality of life assessed by Short Form-36 were evaluated to assess psychosocial outcomes.
Results: The number of married women and their levels of education, employment and body mass index were significantly lower, and their ages higher, than those of the men. Measures of physiological outcome in women were significantly lower than those in men. Measures of self-efficacy for physical activity and Short Form-36 physical and emotional subscale scores were lower and anxiety levels higher in women than in men.
Conclusion: Cardiac rehabilitation programmes exclusively for women focusing on physiological outcomes, group counselling, and training to enhance physical and emotional domains may encourage increased participation by women in cardiac rehabilitation.