Background: Psychiatric disorders in transplant candidate patients may decrease quality of life of patients and affect the treatment adherence of patients and also post-transplant surgery outcomes. Thus, it is important that transplant candidate patients do not have considerable mood or mental and behavioral disease or they have been under treatment for it, if they had one. Since, there is no study about psychiatric disorders in transplant candidate patients in Masih Daneshvari hospital, current study was done for evaluation of the psychological factors of heart and lung transplant candidate patients in Masih Daneshvari Hospital.

Methods: This cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted in 2012 on 48 patients who were in lung or heart transplant waiting list. Each patient entered to the project after clinical interview and definite diagnosis. Then the mental status of each patient evaluated by psychiatrist according to DSM –IV TR criteria and after informed consent of him or her for cooperation and assurance about confidentiality of information, questionnaires were completed from patients in calm and without stress environment by interviewers. Questionnaires included two parts of demographic information and SCL-90. After collecting questionnaires, data was entered to SPSS-16 computer program and analysis was done.

Findings:  18 patients (38%) were female and 30 (62%) were male. The mean age of patients was 41 ± 13 years. 34 (70%) were married and 19 (40%) were living in Tehran. 21 (49%) were smoker and 8 (19%) used narcotics.  In this project the highest scores of psychological disorders were related to hypochondriasis (0.85) and depression (0.78) and lowest score was related to paranoid and reference (0.46). The relation of depression with hypochondriasis, obsession, anxiety and phobia were significant (P. V=0/004),   (P.V=0/000), (P. V= 0/000), (P. V= 0/076).

The relation of anxiety with hypochondriasis, obsession, depression and paranoid and reference was significant (P. V= 0/000), (P. V= 0/000), (P. V=0/000), (P. V=0/000). The relation of hypochondriasis with phobia was significant (P. V= 0/007) and the relation of obsession with paranoid and reference was significant (P. V= 0/000). Those who were prominently depressed had highest consumption of narcotics and those who had high scores in interpersonal relationship sensitivity, anxiety and aggression suffered from substance abuse problems less than others. Among smokers, depression and hypochondriasis were most observable disorders and aggression was least observable disorder.    

Conclusion: Findings of this study in accordance with results of other studies showed that transplant candidate patients suffer from psychological disorders including depression, anxiety, somatization, obsession- compulsion, interpersonal relationship sensitivity, aggression, phobia, paranoia and reference. It is necessary that evaluation and diagnosis of acute and chronic mental disorders of transplanted patients and also transplant candidate patients considered to be the routine treatment schedules of these patients by consultation with psychiatrist. It is important especially regarding to findings from patients who also had substance abuse (tobacco and other substances) problems. Psychological problems result in poor outcomes of the treatment, increased length of hospitalization, increased stress and reduced quality of life.