The influence of posttransplant anxiety on the long-term health of patients.

We analyzed whether a high level of anxiety in posttransplant patients affected their health, namely, symptoms of anxiety and depression and the quality of life, at 1 year after transplantation. We selected 166 transplant patients (47% liver, 42.8% kidney, and 10.2% heart) of mean age 48.91 years (SD = 11.22). The psychological evaluation was performed in two phases: post-intensive care unit (when the transplant patients were admitted to the transplant unit) and posthospitalization (1 year after organ transplantation). The instruments applied were a "Psychosocial Interview," "The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale," and "Quality of Life Questionnaire." The results showed that a high level of posttransplant anxiety is harmful in the long term to the health of transplant patients: affected individuals showed symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as reduced functioning in social, emotional, physical, and financial areas.