Chronic non-communicable diseases and health awareness of patients: An observational study analysing the health adaptive behaviours through self-care skills

Abstract

The incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) increases with age, thus placing a burden on individuals and healthcare systems; furthermore, CNCDs are associated with lower quality of life (QoL) in the elderly. This study aimed to evaluate the behavioural management of CNCDs by comparing different diseases under its ambit exhibiting various side effects, as well as vascular, gastrointestinal, and other chronic diseases, simultaneously analysing self-care efficacy and emotional dimensions (i.e. anxiety, stress, and depression). A total of 122 outpatients aged >18 years (mean age, 50.0 years; standard deviation, ±13.8) participated in the study, and 59% of the participants were women. The psychological battery was composed of three standardised self-assessments measuring the relevant emotional dimensions, QoL, and self-care indices. Analysis of the emotional dimensions of depression, anxiety, and stress indices resulted in significant differences. Furthermore, post-hoc analyses (Tukey test) showed that patients with gastrointestinal disease (GD) experienced depression more than patients with vascular disease (VD) (p = 0.002). In addition, there were no differences between the VD and Oth and between the GD and Oth groups; however, the Oth group appeared to experience more anxiety than the VD group (p = 0.04); there were no differences between the GD and VD groups, as well the Oth group. The ANCOVA test compared the chronic disease groups, the disease stage (early and long-term), self-care indices, and sex. They were covariated by age, showing a significant effect on the management index only in chronic disease groups (p = 0.007). Our study suggests that the following specific factors need to be considered in health decision-making processes to enhance the compliance of patients to the clinically expected results: (1) tailored clinical therapies; (2) side effects of disease; (3) comorbidity; (4) mental health. The harmonisation of these internal and external factors could offer a powered perspective for personalized medicine.