title: Depressive symptoms and early mortality following lung transplantation: A pilot study.
abstract: Impaired psychological function is common among lung transplant candidates and may affect clinical outcomes following transplantation. Although numerous studies have examined the relationship between pretransplant depression, quality of life (QoL), and post-transplant outcomes, few have examined the relationship between depression and QoL shortly following transplantation and subsequent clinical outcomes. We therefore examined the association between depression, QoL, and short-term mortality in a consecutive series of lung transplant recipients.
  
  
  
  Depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) and QoL (UCSD Shortness of Breath Questionnaire; Pulmonary Quality of Life Scale) were assessed prior to transplantation (median 0.9 months [IQR=1.6]) and again approximately 2 weeks following transplantation (median=0.5 months [IQR=0.5]), in a series of 66 patients transplanted between March 2013 and April 2014. The association between psychiatric diagnoses from participants' comprehensive pretransplant assessment and mortality also was examined. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between depression, QoL, and mortality.
  
  
  
  During a median follow-up of 2.8 years (range 0.4-3.3), 21 patients died (32%). Greater depressive symptoms assessed shortly after transplant were associated with subsequent mortality (HR=2.17 [1.01, 4.67], P=.048), and this relationship persisted after controlling for primary graft dysfunction, duration of transplant hospitalization, and gender. In contrast, neither pretransplant depression, history of depression, nor QoL was associated with mortality.
  
  
  
  Greater post-transplant depressive symptoms are independently associated with mortality among lung transplant recipients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Blumenthal
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Laurie D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mathew
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Durheim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Benson M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Rivelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Palmer
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001007:Anxiety / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016040:Lung Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: depression; lung transplantation; mortality; quality of life