Verbal denial and outcome in myocardial infarction patients.

In a prospective study of 367 myocardial infarction patients, in-hospital measures of three aspects of verbal denial were examined with regard to medical, social and psychological outcome during a 3-5 yr follow-up. A low level of Denial of Illness was associated with more problems related to work, sexual life, and physical activities; and with a higher mortality rate. Higher levels of Denial of Impact were related to better emotional outcome, but also weakly associated with increased mortality. In contrast, Suppression proved to be related only to self-reported emotional distress. The findings indicate that it is useful to distinguish among several forms of denial in medical patients according to what is being denied.