title: [The effects of depressive symptoms on quality of life, sexual satisfaction and cognitive performance after orthotopic liver transplantation].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our cross-sectional study aimed to explore the existence of depressive symptoms among orthotopic liver transplantation recipients and to investigate how depressive symptoms are linked to health-related quality of life, sexual satisfaction and cognitive performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 76 liver transplantation recipients. All patients were treated at the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation Surgery, University of Medicine of Graz, Graz, Austria. The psychometric observer-rating scale Hamilton Depression Scale was administered to evaluate depressive symptoms. Cognitive performance was based on the SKT. The data on health-related quality of life were obtained from the SF-36 and the data on sexual satisfaction were obtained from the FLZ.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After the orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) 53,9% (n = 41) of the sample suffered from depressive symptoms. Impaired sexual functioning and impaired cognitive performance are a common feature in liver transplantation recipients with depressive symptoms. In the sample of patients suffering from depressive symptoms significant impairments in health-related quality of life were found in all SF-36 domains.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Liver transplantation recipients may face a major risk of liver transplantation-related depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms are highly associated with impairments in quality of life, sexual satisfaction and cognitive performance.
authors: Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie der Medizinischen Universität Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 31, 8036, Graz, Österreich, andreas.baranyi@klinikum-graz.at.
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Baranyi
authors: Dietmar
authors: D
authors: Rösler
authors: Hans-Bernd
authors: HB
authors: Rothenhäusler
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D009948:Orgasm; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology