Prospective Validation of the Decalogue, a Set of Doctor-Patient Communication Recommendations to Improve Patient Illness Experience and Mood States within a Hospital Cardiologic Ambulatory Setting
Table 1
Comparison of general characteristics between the two study groups. CAD = coronary artery disease.
Decalogue group ()
Control group ()
value
Age (years)
67.5 ± 15.9
70.6 ± 13.5
0.22
Female gender ()
46 (46.0%)
19 (38.8%)
0.51
Education level ()
0.74
Elementary school
27 (27.8%)
15 (31.3%)
Middle school
30 (30.9%)
13 (27.1%)
High school
29 (29.9%)
12 (25.0%)
Degree
11 (11.3%)
8 (16.7%)
Socioeconomic status ()
0.81
Low
71 (73.2%)
33 (68.8%)
Intermediate
16 (16.5%)
10 (20.8%)
High
10 (10.3%)
5 (10.4%)
Main reason for referral ()
0.88
CAD
37 (38.0%)
15 (31.3%)
Heart failure
30 (28.0%)
17 (35.4%)
Arrhythmias
17 (18.0%)
7 (14.6%)
Hypertension
7 (7.0%)
5 (10.4%)
Other
9 (9.0%)
4 (8.3%)
Number of medications in current therapy ()
5 [3–7]
5 [4–7]
0.56
Number of daily medication assumptions ()
6 [3–9]
6 [4–9]
0.67
Depression ()
7 (7.0%)
1 (2.3%)
0.28
Percentages calculated on a total sample of 97 patients in the Decalogue group, due to missing data in 3 subjects.
