Depression in relatives of liver transplant recipients and its reasons

Abstract

Objective To investigate the depression in relatives of liver transplant (LT)recipients and explore its influencing factors.Methods LT recipients received LT in our center from January 2003 to December 2008 were introduced; the depression in relatives of these LT recipients were assessed by Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and compared with that of general population.Results The scores of depression in relatives of LT recipients was (39.06± 11.20) and was statistically significantly higher than that of the norm (33.46±8.55,n=1000,P＜0.05).Among them,41 relatives had no depression,6 mild depression and 3 moderate depression; none had severe depression.The incidence of depression in this group was 18％.Conclusion The level of depression in relatives of LT recipients is higher than that of general population; and much attention should be paid to the relatives of LT recipients. Key words: Liver transplantation; Relative; Depression; Impact factor