Relationship between spiritual well-being, death anxiety and life satisfaction in coronary artery patients and their primary caregivers: a comparative study.

Résumé

AIM: This study aims to compare the relationship between spiritual well-being, death anxiety, and life satisfaction among patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease and their primary caregivers.METHODS: This cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted with 233 patients diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and 233 primary caregivers at the Cardiology Clinic of Mardin Training and Research Hospital between November 9, 2024, and January 15, 2025. Data were collected using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), and the Adult Life Satisfaction Scale (ALSS). Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, were used to analyze the data. The normal distribution of scale scores and numerical variables was assessed using kurtosis and skewness values. Relationships between scale score means were evaluated using Pearson or Spearman correlation tests. Scale scores according to sociodemographic variables were analyzed using Student's t-test, ANOVA, and Tukey's post hoc test. In cases where normal distribution was not achieved, the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied. To determine the effect of DAS and SWBS total scores, as well as being a patient or a primary caregiver, on ALSS scores, multiple linear regression analysis was performed using the Enter method.RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56.77 (SD = 11.47), while that of the primary caregivers was 39.31 (SD = 13.68). A weak but statistically significant negative correlation was found between the total scores of the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Adult Life Satisfaction Scale (ALSS) in both patients (r = -0.25, p