Kinesiophobia in heart transplantation patients: a cross-sectional study with a special focus in sex differences

Type of funding sources: None.

Patients with heart disease sometimes have a fear of moderate and vigorous physical activity, in addition to the possibility of kinesiophobia or fear of movement. There are scarce studies assessing kinesiophobia in men and women with heart transplantation. The aim of the study was to compare the levels of kinesiophobia in men and women with heart transplantation.

This was a cross-sectional study. Sociodemographic data (age, sex, education and marital status) were collected. Kinesiophobia was measured using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-11). Each item has a 4-point Likert scale ranging from ‘‘strongly disagree’’ to ‘‘strongly agree’’, and the total score ranges between 11 and 44 points, a high value indicating high levels of kinesiophobia.

103 participants (40.78% women vs. 59.22% men, mean ages 53.38±12.59 vs. 57.80±12.60 years, respectively) were assessed. No differences by sex were found in the total score of the TSK-11 (women=24.02±6.38, men=23.49±5.71, p = 0.659). Women reported significantly higher scores than men in item 1 ("I’m afraid I might injure myself if I exercise", p = 0.007), item 2 ("If I were to try to overcome it, my pain would increase", p = 0.044) and item 5 ( "My accident/problem has put my body at risk for the rest of my life", p = 0.009). On the other hand, men reported significantly higher scores in item 11 ("No one should have to exercise when he/she is in pain", p = 0.008).

We found no differences by sex in overall kinesiophobia of heart transplantation patients. However, women were more afraid of getting injured during physical exercise and of injuring themselves accidentally, whilst men considered not recommendable to exercise when they were in pain.