Illness perception in patients with coronary artery disease: A systematic review

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review that investigates the differences in illness perception with age and gender in patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease. Previous studies show some discrepancies regarding the influence of age and gender on the specific dimensions of coronary artery disease patients' illness perception. A systematic review using a narrative synthesis process included preliminary synthesis, exploration of relationships and assessment of the robustness of the synthesis and findings was conducted. Search terms were used to identify research studies published between 1996 and December 2014 across four key databases: CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO and Web of Science. A total of 14 studies met the inclusion criteria of the review. The review found that men had a stronger perception that their own behaviour had caused their illness than women. In addition, older patients had lower perceptions of the consequences and chronicity of their illness. This analysis concludes that some dimensions of illness perception vary according to age and gender of patients with coronary artery disease. These differences should be taken into consideration, particularly when providing health education and cardiac rehabilitation.