title: Cognitive abilities, behaviour and quality of life in children after liver transplantation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated interrelations between cognitive abilities, behavioural problems, quality of life and disease-related variables of children after LTX.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our sample consisted of 25 children. They were 8.5/2.8 (M/SD) years old and had received the transplant 5.5/3.1 years previously. For assessment we used well-established instruments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Liver transplanted children scored below the population mean on the cognitive as well as on the behavioural instrument and showed scores below average in the scales Self-esteem, Friends and Total Score regarding QoL. Behavioural problems were associated with poorer cognitive performance (r=-0.38 to -0.63). QoL regarding physical well-being was correlated with sequential processing (r=0.41). Lower sequential processing scores were associated with lower QoL. Also between behavioural parameters and QoL correlations could be determined. Children with more behavioural problems experienced lower QoL (r=-0.40 to r=-0.76). Age at onset of disease showed correlations with behavioural and QoL parameters (r=-0.49 resp. r=0.44). Cognitive functioning was associated with medical complications (r=-0.44).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High interrelations between cognitive functioning, behavioural deficits and QoL were obtained. Especially noticeable are correlations between sequential processing and internalized behavioural functions as both are associated with left lateralized brain functioning. This relationship could indicate differential effects on brain development during the preoperative phase.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Psychology, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. t.kaller@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaller
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boeck
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sander
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Richterich
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burdelski
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ganschow
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Schulz
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires