Purpose: The exact role of psychosocial status in quality of life (QOL) of patients with heart failure (HF) is not fully clarified. This report investigates the association of depression and social support in 2 subdomains of QOL, overall satisfaction with QOL (S-QOL) and limitations in physical functioning (PF-QOL) in a diverse group of HF patients.
Methods: Baseline data were used from a behavioral clinical trial, with complete information on 695 HF patients, of whom 33% were black and 24% had diastolic dysfunction. Data were collected via structured questionnaires, medical record review, and a 6-minute walk test. QOL outcomes included the Quality of Life Index (QLI) as a measure of S-QOL and the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey Physical Functioning (SF-36 PF) scale as a measure of PF-QOL.
Results: After adjustment for sociodemographic variables, clinical and functional characteristics of disease status accounted for 19% of the variance in the QLI. Depressive symptoms and social support were significantly associated with QLI scores (P < .001) and accounted for an additional 26% of the variance. Clinical and functional characteristics accounted for 33% of the variance in SF-36 PF scores, whereas depressive symptoms and social support accounted for an additional 1% of the variance.
Conclusion: Depression and social support play a substantially greater role in S-QOL than in perceived limitations in basic physical functions. Targeting depression and low social support may be more important to improve overall QOL, whereas medical management of HF symptoms and functional capacity may have a greater impact on reducing basic physical limitations.