Determinants of the quality of life of patients with congenital heart disease.

Objective: The improvement of the quality of life of chronically ill patients has become an important goal in treatment. However, it is seldom taken into account that many other factors, in addition to somatic factors, have an influence on the quality of life of patients. Using patients with congenital heart defects as an example, we examined the relative significance of biological factors, compared to psychological and social factors, for the various quality of life dimensions.