Overall mental distress and health-related quality of life after solid-organ transplantation: results from a retrospective follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Our retrospective follow-up study aimed to explore the degree of overall mental distress in a cohort of solid-organ transplantation (SOT) recipients after liver, heart or lung transplantation. Furthermore, we investigated how overall mental distress is linked to health-related quality of life. METHODS: 123 SOT patients treated during the study period were enrolled in this investigation at a mean of 24.6 months (SD=11.6) after transplantation. Before transplantation, the Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale (TERS) was used to classify the level of adjustment in psychosocial functioning among transplantation candidates. After transplantation, recipients completed a research battery, which included the SCL-90-R, and the SF-36. RESULTS: 39 (31.7%) transplantation recipients had clinically significant overall mental distress as measured on the Global Severity Index of the SCL-90-R. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (92.3%), somatization symptoms (87.2%), anxiety symptoms (84.6%), depression symptoms (82.1%) and phobic anxiety symptoms (69.2%) were a frequent finding.Transplantation recipients with overall mental distress had significant lower levels of adjustment in psychosocial functioning before transaplantation than those without overall mental distress as measured in the TERS. Transplantation-related overall mental distress symptomatology was associated with maximal decrements in health-related quality of life. CONCLUSION: Transplantation recipients may face major transplantation- and treatment-related overall mental distress and impairments to their health-related quality of life. Further, overall mental distress is a high-risk factor in intensifying impairments to patients' overall quality of life.