Cardiovascular Risk Assessment And Health-Related Quality Of Life: The Case Study Of Middle-Aged Adults Attending Outpatient Clinic Of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients suffer from a variety of physical symptoms, such as exhaustion, dyspnoea, or chest discomfort, which negatively impact their relationships, psychological, and physical health and significantly lower their overall quality of life. This study assessed the cardiovascular risk and health related quality of life among middle aged adults attending outpatient clinic of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ekiti State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of 206 middle-aged adults attending the outpatient clinic was carried out over 4 months. The respondents were selected through systematic sampling. The instrument used was a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for social science (SPSS) version 23. Results: The majority of the respondents (63.3%) had a low cardiovascular risk score of <10% while 9.7% of the respondents had a ≥20% risk of having a cardiovascular event over the next ten years. The health-related quality of life varied across different domains with the highest score recorded in the social functioning domain (71.72±22.86) while the lowest score was seen in the energy/ fatigue domain (56.29±17.26).  An inverse relationship between the cardiovascular risk profile and health-related quality of life with significance in the physical functioning (p value=0.010) and general role limitation due to emotional problems (p value=0.002) was found. Conclusion: Cardiovascular risk was low among the majority. Health related quality of life was highest in social function domain and lowest in energy/fatigue domain. The presence of cardiovascular risk was related to health related quality of life with significance in physical functioning and emotional issues.

Keywords: Middle aged, Cardiovascular, risk factor, quality of life, Health