Spiritual Well-Being May Buffer Psychological Distress in Patients With Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators

Abstract

Psychological distress is common in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and has been associated with a worse prognosis. The authors examined whether spiritual wellbeing is associated with reduced psychological distress in patients with ICDs. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Wellbeing (FACIT-SWB) questionnare and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to measure spiritual wellbeing and overall psychological distress. Multivariate linear regression was used to explore the relationship between these variables.The study sample included 46 ICD outpatients (32 M, 14 F; age range 43-83). An inverse association between HADS and FACIT-SWB scores was found, persisting after adjustment for demographics, anxiety/depression, medications, therapist support, and functional status (F = 0.001; β= -0.31, CI: -0.44, -0.19). In conclusion, spiritual wellbeing was independently associated with lower psychological distress in ICD outpatients. Spiritual wellbeing could act as a protective factor against psychological distress in these high-risk patients.