Objective: To analyze the quality of life of people with coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent distinct therapeutic interventions and compare the possible differences between genders.
Methods: This study comprised 542 subjects, 376 men (58.5 +/- 8.7 years) and 166 women (61.8 +/- 9.2 years), with CAD who underwent surgical, medical treatment or angioplasty. Quality of life was assessed with The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) administered at the beginning of treatment and after 6 and 12 months. The applied statistical method was the ANOVA test.
Results: Those who underwent surgical treatment had scores of 46, 63, 68, for physical components; 52, 65, 62 for medical treatment, and 57, 66, 70 for angioplasty, respectively, in the initial, six, and twelve months phases. For mental components, results were 58, 71, 74 for the surgical intervention; 61, 69, 69 for the medical treatment, 64, 74, 74 for angioplasty. The differences over time and between treatments reached a statistical significance (p<0.001). In comparing genders, physical component scores in men were 56*, 69, 77*, and 41*, 64, 62* in women, respectively; mental component scores in men were 61*, 73, 80* and 51*, 68, 62* in women (*p<0.0001).
Conclusions: Subjects who underwent surgical treatment had the most favorable evolution. Men when compared to women had a better quality of life in the beginning of treatment with a progressive improvement after six and twelve months, while women, after an improvement at six months, presented a decrease at twelve.