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Sex and Psychosocial Differences in Acute Stress Symptoms Prior to Open-Heart Surgery

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Abstract

Background

Acute stress symptoms can occur while cardiac patients await open-heart surgery (OHS). The distress leads to poor outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the association of sex and psychosocial factors (quality-of-life and character strengths).

Method

Our study cohort included 481 pre-OHS patients (female 42%; mean age 62 years). Medical indices/factors were obtained from the Society of Thoracic Surgeon’s national database. Multiple regression analyses were performed following pre-planned steps and adjusting medical factors.

Results

Our findings revealed that sex differences in trauma-related symptoms were associated with poor mental well-being, alongside comorbidities. Both mental well-being and comorbidity factors were directly related to acute stress symptoms, while dispositional optimism had an inverse association with this outcome.

Conclusion

To improve OHS outcomes, our findings suggest healthcare providers be attentive to pre-OHS acute stress symptoms, pay greater attention to the emotional well-being of their female patients, and develop supportive interventions to enhance personality strengths.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Amy Ai had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The opinions expressed in this study do not represent those of the founders.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R03 AG015686-01, R03 AG060212-01A1) to Amy L. Ai, PhD.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida State University, College of Social Work, 296 Champions Way, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-2570, USA

    Amy L. Ai, Hoa B. Appel & Chyongchiou J. Lin

  2. University of Washington Bothell, School of Nursing and Health Studies, 17927 113th Ave NE, Bothell, WA, 98011, USA

    Hoa B. Appel

  3. The Ohio State University, College of Nursing, 1577 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Chyongchiou J. Lin

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  1. Amy L. Ai
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Correspondence to Amy L. Ai, Hoa B. Appel or Chyongchiou J. Lin.

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Institutional Review Board approvals were received from the previous NIA grant–funded data collection. Approval for secondary analysis of the resulting data was obtained from the Institutional Review Board at Florida State University.

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Ai, A.L., Appel, H.B. & Lin, C.J. Sex and Psychosocial Differences in Acute Stress Symptoms Prior to Open-Heart Surgery. Int.J. Behav. Med. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-024-10287-1

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