Mental health in venous thromboembolism: A scoping review of the qualitative and quantitative evidence

The effects of venous thromboembolism (VTE) on mental health have gained increasing awareness. We aimed to conduct a scoping review of the qualitative and quantitative evidence of mental health after VTE.

We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycInfo. The qualifying participant criteria was a VTE diagnosis, the principal concept was mental health. Studies investigating quality of life without a specific mental health focus were excluded. The outcome assessment was not restricted to specific methods. Quantitative analyses were not performed.

Of 11,947 identified records, 104 were included. The first record dates to 1931, with a steep publication increase in the 2010s. Qualitative and mixed-methods studies (n = 37) were mostly conducted in high income countries and included vulnerable patient populations. Quantitative studies (n = 64) primarily focused on anxiety or depression but showed a high degree of heterogeneity. Several studies included VTE patients only as subgroups and no study was dedicated to prevention or treatment. We identified the following research gaps and recommendations: (1) harmonization of outcomes; (2) longitudinal outcome assessment; (3) expansion to vulnerable patient populations, such as patients with cancer, and lower income countries; (4) assessment and/or exclusion of pre-existing diagnoses or assessment of pre-VTE mental health; and (5) dedicated studies evaluating prevention and treatment of mental health disorders after VTE.

Mental health sequelae after VTE have been investigated in various qualitative and quantitative studies. However, these studies are characterized by considerable heterogeneity and their clinical impact is limited due to the lack of investigations of prevention or treatment of mental health disorders after VTE.