Progressive increase of anxiety and depression in patients waiting for a kidney transplantation

Because of the increasing duration of the waiting-list period for kidney transplantation, we hypothesized that this period was associated with a progressive increase in depressive and anxious symptoms in patients waitlisted for a kidney transplantation. In a prospective naturalistic follow-up cohort study, 390 patients on a waiting list for kidney transplant were assessed for anxiety and depression at the time of inclusion on the waiting list, 12 months later, 24 months later, and 3 months after transplantation. The Beck Depression Inventory-Short Version (Short-BDI) and the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used for this assessment. We found that in this sample, anxious and depressive symptoms progressively increased before transplantation and showed a marked decrease after transplantation. We conclude that to limit anxious and depressive symptoms in patients waiting for a kidney transplantation, the duration of the waiting list period should be reduced as far as possible.