Saeid Komasi - Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, Imam Ali Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Mozhgan Saeidi - Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, Imam Ali Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

BACKGROUND: To investigate the role of sex and age differences in marital conflict and stress of patients who were under cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program. METHODS: The data of this cross-sectional study were collected from the database of the CR Department of Imam Ali Hospital, Kermanshah, Iran. The demographics and medical data of ۶۸۳ persons were collected from January ۲۰۰۳ and January ۲۰۱۰ using medical records, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hudson’s Index of Marital Stress, and the Structured Clinical Interview for axis I disorders. Data were analyzed through Analysis of Covariance and Bonferroni test. RESULTS: About ۷۴.۸% of the subjects were male. After adjustment for age, educational level, anxiety, and depression-the findings showed that women in CR program had a higher level of marital stress compared to men (۵۴.۷۵ ± ۲.۵۲ vs. ۴۹.۳۰ ± ۰.۸۹; P = ۰.۰۴۲). Furthermore, it was revealed that women who aged ۵۶-۶۵ years and more experienced higher level of marital stress compared to younger patients (P < ۰.۰۵۰); however, no significant difference was observed between different age groups in male patients (P > ۰.۰۵۰). CONCLUSION: Marital conflict and stress threaten healthiness of women who aged ۵۶-۶۵ years more prominently than does in males or younger patients. Regarding the effect of marital stress on recurrence of the disease and cardiac-related morbidity and mortality in women, providing effective education and interventions to this group of patients, especially older women and even their spouses could be one of the useful objectives of CR programs. 

Marital Conflict, Psychologic Stress, Sex Differences, Rehabilitation, Cardiac Disease