MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)-- Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have found patients awaiting lung transplant often suffer from stress, anxiety, or depressive symptoms, and these symptoms are not isolated to patients with pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses. Pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses have been investigated previous to lung transplant. Little is known about the prevalence and burden of active depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms pretransplant.
The retrospective review of patients undergoing lung transplant from 2000-2013 at Mayo Clinic found 42 percent of patients reported depression-related emotional symptoms, and 52% had depression-related physical symptoms. Just 17.6 percent of these patients reported a prior diagnosis of depression.
"Our study has uncovered a need for interventions aimed at reducing stress, supporting emotional health, reducing anxiety--regardless of a patient's psychiatric history," said Dr. Abhar Vakil, Mayo Clinic physician and lead researcher. "Our study also highlights that depression-related physical symptoms experienced by patients awaiting lung transplant may be difficult to separate from chronic illness."
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Further results will be shared during CHEST 2015 on Wednesday, October 28, at 1:30 PM, in the exhibit hall. The study abstract can be viewed on the CHEST website.
CHEST 2015 is the 81st annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, held October 24-28, 2015, in Montréal, Canada. The American College of Chest Physicians, publisher of the journal CHEST, is the global leader in advancing best patient outcomes through innovative chest medicine education, clinical research, and team-based care. Its mission is to champion the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases through education, communication, and research. It serves as an essential connection to clinical knowledge and resources for its 18,700 members from around the world who provide patient care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. For more information about CHEST 2015, visit http://chestmeeting.chestnet.org, or follow the CHEST meeting hashtag, #CHEST2015, on social media.