ADAPTATION TO CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE - FIRST PILOT-STUDY IN THE MILITARY

To determine how a group of 29 male military patients with coronary ar tery disease (CAD-MIL group) have adapted physically and psychosociall y, we compared results from standard questionnaires with those from 39 healthy military men (WELL-MIL group) and 27 male civilian patients w ith coronary artery disease (CAD-CIV group), There was no difference i n the degree of severity of coronary artery disease between the two gr oups with the disease, The WELL-MIL group reported a higher activity l evel than the CAD-MIL group, which reported a higher activity level th an the CAD-CIV group. Both the CAD-MIL group and WELL-MIL groups had l ower levels of state anxiety compared with the CAD-CIV group, and the CAD-MIL group had a better overall psychosocial adjustment score compa red with that of the CAD-CIV group. Thus, male military patients with coronary artery disease reported better physical and psychosocial adju stment to their illness than a group of male civilian patients with a similar degree of disease severity, but they were less physically acti ve than healthy military men.