Overall dietary quality was not significantly associated with total self-care in this sample of patients with HF, though the saturated fatty acid component and employment status were significantly associated with self-care behaviors.
Heart failure patients demonstrated a moderate level of self-care overall, with a mean HHFSCS score of 41.0 ± 11.3.
Overall dietary quality was not significantly associated with total self-care behavior after adjustment for demographic characteristics.
The saturated fatty acid (SFA) component of the dietary quality score was significantly associated with total self-care after demographic adjustment.
Employment status was significantly associated with self-care behavior in heart failure patients.
The study used a cross-sectional design with self-reported measures, limiting causal inference.
This research suggests that among 137 heart failure patients in Greece, the overall quality of a person's diet was not meaningfully linked to how well they engaged in self-care behaviors such as taking medications, exercising, monitoring symptoms, and keeping medical appointments. Patients showed moderate self-care overall, doing best at taking medications and keeping appointments, but struggling more with exercise, alcohol, smoking behaviors, and recognizing symptoms. The average dietary quality score was relatively low, suggesting room for improvement in eating habits in this population. One specific dietary finding stood out: the amount of saturated fat in the diet was significantly associated with self-care behaviors even after accounting for age, sex, marital status, education, and employment. Employment status was also strongly linked to self-care. This suggests that while overall diet quality may not tell the whole story, certain dietary patterns — particularly saturated fat intake — and social factors like having a job may play a role in how well heart failure patients manage their condition. This research matters because heart failure requires intensive daily self-management, and understanding what factors support or hinder that management could help healthcare providers better target interventions. However, because the study design was cross-sectional (a snapshot in time) and relied on patients reporting their own behaviors, it cannot determine whether diet influences self-care or vice versa. Future studies following patients over time and using objective measurements are needed to better understand these relationships.
Chatziefstratiou A, Giakoumidakis K, Fotos N, Christofi A, Gavathoglou S, Patelarou E, et al.. (2026). Self-Care Behaviors and Dietary Habits Among Patients with Heart Failure: A Cross-Sectional Study.. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18172745