Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Posttransplantation Outcomes in Veterans With Serious Mental Illness.

Evans LD, Stock EM, Zeber JE, Morissette SB, MacCarthy AA, Sako EY, Lappin J, Lawrence VA, MacCarthy DJ, Copeland LA. Posttransplantation Outcomes in Veterans With Serious Mental Illness. Transplantation. 2015 Aug 1; 99(8):e57-65.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Anticipating poor recovery due to impaired self-management and appointment-keeping, clinicians may consider serious mental illness (SMI) a significant concern in organ transplantation. However, little empirical evidence exists regarding posttransplantation outcomes for patients with SMI. METHODS: This study analyzed health services data to evaluate posttransplantation 3-year survival by SMI status in a nationwide cohort of patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). RESULTS: A total of 960 recipients of solid organ or bone marrow transplants were identified from Veterans Health Administration administrative data extracts for fiscal years 2006 to 2009. Of these, 164 (17%) had an SMI diagnosis before transplantation (schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress, major depressive, and bipolar disorders); 301 (31%) had some other mental illness diagnosis (such as anxiety, adjustment reactions, or substance abuse); and 495 (52%) had no mental health diagnosis. Twenty-two patients (2%) required retransplantation and 208 patients (22%) died during follow-up. Data on whether these were primary or repeat transplantations were unavailable. Rates of attendance at postoperative outpatient visits and number of months for which immunosuppressive drugs fills were recorded were similar among mental illness groups, as were rates of diagnosed immunological rejection. Three-year mortality was equivalent among mental health groups: no mental health (19%) versus other mental illness (23%) versus SMI (27%; ?(2) = 5.11; df = 2; P = .08). In adjusted survival models, no effect of mental health status was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Serious mental illness diagnosis does not appear to be associated with adverse transplantation outcomes over the first 3 years; however, a potentially diverging survival curve may portend higher mortality at 5 years.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.