Socioeconomic status and improvements in lifestyle, coronary risk factors, and quality of life: the Multisite Cardiac Lifestyle Intervention Program.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to clarify whether patients of low socioeconomic status (SES) can make lifestyle changes and show improved outcomes in coronary heart disease (CHD), similar to patients with higher SES.

METHODS: We examined lifestyle, risk factors, and quality of life over 3 months, by SES and gender, in 869 predominantly White, nonsmoking CHD patients (34% female) in the insurance-sponsored Multisite Cardiac Lifestyle Intervention Program. SES was defined primarily by education.

RESULTS: At baseline, less-educated participants were more likely to be disadvantaged (e.g., past smoking, sedentary lifestyle, high fat diet, overweight, depression) than were higher-SES participants. By 3 months, participants at all SES levels reported consuming 10% or less dietary fat, exercising 3.5 hours per week or more, and practicing stress management 5.5 hours per week or more. These self-reports were substantiated by improvements in risk factors (e.g., 5-kg weight loss, and improved blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and exercise capacity; P < .001), and accompanied by improvements in well-being (e.g., depression, hostility, quality of life; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: The observed benefits for CHD patients with low SES indicate that broadening accessibility of lifestyle programs through health insurance should be strongly encouraged.