Quality of Life for Males With Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), with rupture as the major consequence, is a life-threatening disease. Although screening programs for AAA reduce mortality, it is unclear how a diagnosis impacts quality of life (QoL) in males. This study sought to measure the change in QoL for males with AAA at baseline and after 12 months.

Between January 1, 2019, and February 28, 2022, males with AAA completed the 12-item short form health survey version 2 (SF-12v2) at baseline and after 12 months. SF-12v2 measures general health, physical functioning, role limitations, bodily pain, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional, and mental health. Clinical risk factors including age, race, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, and smoking status were also collected.

Ninety-one patients with an AAA were followed in a vascular clinic and completed the SF-12v2. The mean (SD) age was 76.0 (5.6) years and body mass index was 29.7 (6.4). The change in SF-12v2 scores from baseline to 12 months showed statistically significant improvement in QoL for general health (P < .05) and bodily pain (P < .05) domains. No significant differences were observed in other domains.

After 12 months, males with AAA reported statistically significant higher QoL scores in general health and bodily pain. These results suggest the need for periodic QoL assessments to track changes over time for males with AAA.