Mental health disorders in haemophilia: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Despite significant advances in morbidity and mortality outcomes, quality of life for people with haemophilia (PWH) remains compromised. Underrecognized and undertreated mental health disorders decrease quality of life; however, reports are inconsistent regarding the true prevalence of mental health disorders in PWH.

We conducted a systematic literature search of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psychinfo and the Cochrane Library, and hand searched the journal Haemophilia to identify records and subsequently conducted a meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in patients with congenital haemophilia.

Our search strategy identified 2315 records, and 28 studies met eligibility criteria. Meta-analysis demonstrated that PWH are at increased risk of depression (odds ratio (OR) 2.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.64-3.68), anxiety (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.01-3.00), anxiety/depression (OR 2.60, 95% CI 2.35-2.87) and ADHD (OR 3.48, 95% CI 1.74-6.96). We found considerable heterogeneity among the studies likely due to differences in assessment tools, populations studied and year of publication. This suggests that standardized tools to diagnose mental health disorders in PWH are needed. Additionally, high-quality studies investigating mental health disorders in PWH are necessary to adequately document the prevalence of these disorders.

Overall, our meta-analysis suggests that the prevalence of depression, anxiety and ADHD across decades is significantly increased in PWH compared to the general population.