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Educational level and employment status in adults with congenital heart disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2017

Constanze Pfitzer Open the ORCID record for Constanze Pfitzer [Opens in a new window] ,
Paul C. Helm ,
Lisa-Maria Rosenthal ,
Christoph Walker ,
Hannah Ferentzi ,
Ulrike M. M. Bauer ,
Felix Berger  and
Katharina R. L. Schmitt
Constanze Pfitzer*
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Heart Disease – Paediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner siteBerlin, Germany
Paul C. Helm
Affiliation:
National Register for Congenital Heart Defects, DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Berlin, Germany
Lisa-Maria Rosenthal
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Heart Disease – Paediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner siteBerlin, Germany
Christoph Walker
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Heart Disease – Paediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner siteBerlin, Germany
Hannah Ferentzi
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Heart Disease – Paediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany Unit for Psychosomatic Medicine, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany
Ulrike M. M. Bauer
Affiliation:
National Register for Congenital Heart Defects, DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Berlin, Germany Competence Network for Congenital Heart Defects, DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Berlin, Germany
Felix Berger
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Heart Disease – Paediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner siteBerlin, Germany Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Charite – Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Germany
Katharina R. L. Schmitt
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Heart Disease – Paediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner siteBerlin, Germany
*
Correspondence to: Dr med. C. Pfitzer, MD, Department of Congenital Heart Disease - Paediatric Cardiology, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany. Tel: +49 30 4593 2849; Fax: +49 30 4593 2900; E-mail: Pfitzer@dhzb.de
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Abstract

Purpose

Through this study we aimed to assess the educational level and employment status of adults with CHD in Germany.

Methods

Data were acquired from an online survey carried out in 2015 by the German National Register for Congenital Heart Defects. A total of 1458 adults with CHD participated in the survey (response rate: 37.6%). For 1198 participants, detailed medical information, such as main cardiac diagnosis and information from medical reports, was available.

Results

Of the participants surveyed (n=1198), 54.5% (n=653) were female, and the mean age was 30 years. The majority of respondents (59.4%) stated that they had high education levels and that they were currently employed (51.1%). Patients with simple CHD had significantly higher levels of education (p<0.001) and were more likely to be employed (p=0.01) than were patients with complex CHD.

Conclusions

More than half of the participants had high education levels and the majority were employed. The association between CHD and its severity and individuals’ educational attainment should be investigated more closely in future studies.

Keywords

Adults with CHDeducational levelemployment statusquality of life
Type
Original Articles
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2018 , pp. 32 - 38
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2017 

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