Psychiatric disorder and quality of life in patients awaiting lung transplantation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between psychiatric comorbidity and quality of life in patients awaiting lung transplantation.

SETTING

Duke University Medical Center/Lung Transplantation Program.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred patients with end-stage pulmonary disease listed for lung transplantation.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

Twenty-five percent (n = 25) of the sample met diagnostic criteria for at least one current mood or anxiety disorder. Controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, percentage of predicted FEV, and lung disease diagnosis, patients with a current psychiatric diagnosis reported poorer general quality of life (p < 0.0001), poorer disease-specific quality of life (p < 0.0001), greater shortness of breath (p = 0.01), more symptoms of psychological distress (p < 0.0001), lower levels of social support (p < 0.0001), and fewer positive health habits (p < 0.04) than their counterparts without a psychiatric diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychiatric comorbidity affects a significant portion of patients awaiting lung transplantation and is associated with decreased health-related quality of life.