Long-term mental health of women after a first acute myocardial infarction

Objectives: To compare the long-term psychologic well-being and psychologic distress, after a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI), of women with those of men and those of a normative community sample of women and to examine the relation of sociodemographic, medical, and psychologic variables to the long-term psychologic well-being and psychologic distress of women. Design: Longitudinal study. Setting: Eight medical centers in central Israel. Participants: Sixty-two women (age range, 30-65y) with documented first AMI. Interventions: Sociodemographic, medical, and psychologic data were collected before hospital discharge (T1). Psychologic well-being and psychologic distress were assessed 5 years after AMI (T2) with the Mental Health Inventory. Main Outcome Measures: Hierarchical regression was used to examine the relations among the outcome variables, psychologic well-being, and psychologic distress at T2 and the predictors, sociodemographic, medical, and psychologic variables at T1. Results: Women had less long-term psychologic well-being and more psychologic distress after AMI than did men or the normative sample of women. Depression and concomitant medical problems were related to women's psychologic well-being; depression alone was related to their long-term psychologic distress. Conclusions: Women with an AMI are more likely than men to have reduced psychologic well-being and increased psychologic distress. In addition, diminished mental health was related to medical and psychologic pathogenic factors.