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ABSTRACT
Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of household activities and housework stress as factors contributing to gender differences in recovery following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Therefore, the impact of time spent on household activities and housework stress on physical functioning (PF) was explored.
Methods: Psychosocial data were measured two months and again one year after CABG in a sample of 351 patients (23% women) recruited within one week before surgery. Self-report questionnaires included assessment of household responsibilities, depression (PHQ–9), and PF (SF-36 subscale).
Results: The results revealed that, following CABG, women spent more time on household activities and experienced markedly more stress due to these activities than men. Surprisingly, only housework stress was associated with poorer PF, whereas the time spent on household activities did not explain differences in PF in men and women. Finally, household responsibilities were not associated with the poorer recovery of the female CABG patient.
Discussion: In conclusion, our results do not support the advice that women should not resume household activities two months after surgery. More research is needed to establish valid guidelines.
Notes
This work was supported by the Competence Network of Heart Failure (Kompetenznetz Herzinsuffizienz) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The authors thank Anne Gale for editorial assistance.
1The test of significance was performed on square root transformed data; nonetheless, to facilitate the interpretation, the table displays the untransformed data.
2Depression and PF 2 months post-CABG.
1φ-correlations for categorical data.
2Square root transformation.
* p < .05
** p < .01.
+ p < .10
* p < .05
** p < .01.
* p < .05
** p < .01.