Gender differences in fears related to coronary arteriography.

OBJECTIVE

To compare levels of fear and the intensity of specific fears in women and men related to coronary arteriography (CA).

DESIGN

Prospective survey.

SETTING

A 1360-bed university hospital. Data were collected before, during, and after CA, and again 6 months later.

SUBJECTS

The sample consisted of 54 women and 166 men undergoing scheduled CA.

METHODS

To compare fear levels at different points of evaluation; two analyses of covariance for repeated measures were performed.

RESULTS

On average, women had significantly higher mean scores of fear across the points of evaluation on the Visual Analogue Scale than men (P <.001). During the hospital stay, the most intense fear for both women and men was the fear of coronary artery bypass grafting and the uncertainty about the illness, whereas at home it was the fear of myocardial infarction. On average, women reported significantly intense fears more frequently than men across time. On average, men experienced more intensive fear of problems in their sex life than women (P =. 032). The changes in intensity of fears over time were not significantly different by gender, except in fear of pain (P =.013), health care staff not having enough time to care for the patient (P =.039), and health care staff discussing the patient's condition without the patient being present (P =.048). Age and prior CA were found to be significantly related to most of the fears at different points of evaluation, and to the changes of fears over time.

CONCLUSION

There existed differences in the tendency to report intensity of fears by gender; however, the intensity of fears changed in a similar way over time. The results suggest that the few gender differences in fears that existed may be explained by the treatment chosen for the patients and the patients' acceptance of it. Therefore, it is important to adapt information and support according to the treatment chosen for the patient.