Loneliness predicts physical and mental health‐related quality of life over 9 months among patients with coronary heart disease

This study investigated whether loneliness would predict physical and mental health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) over 9 months and examined whether medical adherence would mediate their associations in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). The overall design is a three‐wave longitudinal study. A sample of 255 outpatients with CHD was recruited from a community‐based cardiac rehabilitation programme. Participants, with a mean age of 63 years, completed measures assessing loneliness, depression and physical and mental HRQoL at baseline. Medical adherence was assessed at 3 months, and physical and mental HRQoL were reassessed at 9 months. A total of 88% of participants reported moderate or high loneliness. Baseline loneliness predicted physical and mental HRQoL at 9 months after adjusting for baseline physical and mental HRQoL, respectively. The effects remained significant when depression was also adjusted. Medical adherence at 3 months partially mediated the associations of baseline loneliness with 9‐month physical and mental HRQoL. Findings underline the necessity of assessing loneliness for CHD patients to promote long‐term medical adherence and further improve physical and mental HRQoL.