Depression and infection prevention behaviors among post-organ transplant recipients during Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K21139
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0908:Society medicine, nursing, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Tanaka Satomi 九州大学, 医学研究院, 助教 (50909299)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: COVID-19 / 抑うつ / 感染予防行動 / Quality of life / 肝移植 / 腎移植

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to clarify COVID-19-related infection prevention behaviors and awareness, QOL, and depression, and to explore their association with depression in 204 post-liver and kidney transplant patients.Preventive behaviors and awareness regarding COVID-19 were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire based on previous studies, the PHQ-9 for depression, and the SF-8 for QOL.
About 30% of the patients were depressed and 8.3% were moderately or severely depressed.Depressed patients had low subjective mental QOL, diabetes, insufficient information about COVID-19, and excessive fear of infection in the hospital were factors associated with depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.　Only 2.5% of patients used the outpatient transplant clinic as their primary source of information.
The study suggested the need for health care providers to provide correct information to maintain the mental health of post-transplant patients during a COVID-19 pandemic.

Free Research Field

看護学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究より,COVID-19パンデミック中の腎移植・肝移植後患者において,抑うつは主観的QOLの低下に関連しており,糖尿病を併存していること,COVID-19に関する十分な情報がないこと,病院で感染することへの過度な恐怖が抑うつの独立した関連要因であることが示された。移植後患者は,免疫抑制剤を生涯内服することから感染ハイリスク群であり, 本研究のでの成果は,今後新興感染症が発生した場合においても,移植後患者のメンタルヘルスの危機に対応するために必要な看護支援への示唆を与えることができると考える。