Is socioeconomic deprivation associated with worse quality of life, anxiety and depression in liver transplant recipients? A cross-sectional study in a national transplantation programme

OBJECTIVE: To identify whether socioeconomic deprivation is associated with worse health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), anxiety and depression following liver transplantation. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Liver transplant recipients within a national transplantation programme. METHODS: Participants completed the condition-specific ‘Short Form of Liver Disease Quality of Life’ Questionnaire, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) Questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The aggregate HR-QoL Score (range 0–100) was derived, and multivariable linear regression was performed based on sociodemographic and clinical variables to estimate its independent association with Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles. The GAD-7 Questionnaire and PHQ-9 were used to screen respondents for anxiety and depression, and multivariable logistic regression was performed to estimate their independent association with SIMD quintiles. RESULTS: Some 331 patients completed the questionnaires. Quintiles were equally distributed in the cohort, with no significant differences observed in underlying patient characteristics. Following multivariable adjustment, greater socioeconomic deprivation was associated with lower post-transplantation HR-QoL scores, with a difference of 9.7 points (95% CI: 4.6 to 14.9, p<0.001) between the most and least deprived quintiles. Recipients living in areas of least deprivation were less likely to suffer from anxiety (OR 0.05, 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.28, p=0.003) or depression (OR 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.56, p=0.009). CONCLUSION: Despite the highly selected nature of liver transplant recipients, those living in the most deprived areas have a significantly lower HR-QoL and are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.