Determining the sexual quality of life and related factors in patients referred to the department of cardiac rehabilitation: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: One of the neglected issues among cardiovascular participants is sexual activity, which can affect their general quality of life. Objective: To evaluate the sexual quality of life and its related factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 cardiovascular participants, referred to the department of rehabilitation of the Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Kashan, Iran in May 2017. Individuals who met the inclusion criteria filled the demographic characteristics questionnaires, including sexual quality of life questionnaire (SQOL)-female and SQOL-male, sexual knowledge post-myocardial infarction scale (SKS-MI), sexual knowledge after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery scale (SKS-CABG), and couple communication scale (CCS). Results: In this research, the mean score of SQOL of the participants was 50.02 ± 22.57. According to the results, there was a significant and positive association between the scores of SQOL and CCS (r = 0.540, p ≤ 0.0001), SKS-MI (r = 0.322, p = 0.006), and SKSCABG (r = 0.178, p = 0.046). The maximum association was observed between SQOL and CCS and the minimum association between SQOL and SKS-CABG. Moreover, there was a relationship between the SQOL and participant’s age and level of education. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the sexual quality of life scores among participants with MI and CABG was not favorable and this participant suffered from a lack of sexual knowledge. Key words: Sexual health, Patients, Cardiovascular rehabilitation.