Sexual Satisfaction and Quality of Life in Cardiovascular Patients: The Mediating Role of Anxiety

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases represent one of the most important problems for public health. Research indicates that elderly patients consider sexual satisfaction as a fundamental aspect of their quality of life and a better sexual function is related to higher general wellbeing. Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate the mediating role of anxiety and depression in the relationship between quality of life and sexual satisfaction in cardiovascular (CVD) patients. Methods: The sample comprised 128 adult patients, males and females, hospitalized in a Cardiology Rehabilitation clinical center. To collect data, the following were used: a demographic information sheet, the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) to evaluate cardiac function, cardiovascular diagnosis type, the HADS scale to evaluate anxiety and depression states, a test for sexual satisfaction evaluation (SAS) and the SF-36 survey to measure quality of life. Results: The results indicated that only SF-36 physical health is indirectly related to SAS through its relationship with anxiety. Conclusion: A mediating model was proposed to explore the underlying association between sexual satisfaction and quality of life. We recommend investigating perceived general health and sexuality as clinical indicators for therapeutic decisions and risk evaluation for the management of cardiovascular diseases.