Quality of life in a cohort of patients diagnosed with renal failure in childhood and who received renal transplant.

Studies on HRQOL on kidney-transplanted young adults who had a diagnosis of chronic renal failure (CRF) in the pediatric age are uncommon. We studied HRQOL and its predictors in a sample of young adults with CRF in childhood who underwent a renal transplant. We recruited patients ≥18 yr old with renal transplant. We measured HRQOL by a standardized questionnaire on lifestyle, Short Form-36 (SF-36; including a PCS and a MCS; scale: 0-100), the GHQ (for short-term changes in mental health; scale: 0-36), and the MSPSS (with scales for family, friends, and significant others; scale: 0-100). We assessed the association of potential predictors of HRQOL through multiple linear regression models. We studied 66 patients aged 18-34 yr. The average PCS score was 76.4, and the average MCS score was 73.9. The mean GHQ total score was 14.8, and the total scale MSPSS mean score was 70. Severe comorbidities significantly affected the PCS score. Individuals with severe comorbidities had lower PCS scores.
(© 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)