Depression while on the lung transplantation waiting list

Patients inflicted with severe illnesses are prone to depression, which tends to intensify the burden of the disease. Those awaiting organ transplantation cannot help but feel that they may not be fortunate enough to breathe through a new lung. Such sense of doom along with constraints imposed by the illness increases the likelihood of depression. We sought to investigate the presence of depression in a group of patients on the lung transplantation waiting list in Iran.

This cross-sectional study, conducted between August and September 2007, recruited 64 candidates from a single lung transplantation clinic. The Beck Depression Inventory was employed to identify the presence and severity of depression. This 21-item questionnaire has a total score ranging from 0 to 63, with higher scores denoting more severe depressive symptoms. In an Iranian population, scores from 0 to 15 signify no problem, while scores from 16 to 30 indicate mild, 31 to 46 moderate, and 47 to 63 severe depression.

The patient population was composed of 70.3% men and 29.7% women at a mean age of 36.6+/-13.6 years. 40.6% were single and 59.4% were married. Whereas 43.8% had no abnormal depressive symptoms, 37.5% had mild and 18.7% had moderate symptoms.

More than half of the patients on the lung transplantation waiting list had a degree of depression. Given the risk of non-compliance with treatment in depressives, it is advisable that lung transplantation candidates be screened for depression and diagnosed cases be referred for the treatment of depression.