Depression and psychosocial correlates of liver transplant candidates: a systematic review.

Introduction: Liver transplant candidates are vulnerable to develop depression. This paper aims to ascertain the prevalence of depression in liver transplant candidates and its psychosocial factors in a systematic review.
Methods: An extensive review via electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL) and hand search were carried out to retrieve published articles up to December 15, 2013, using (Incidence OR Prevalence) AND Depress* AND liver transplant as the keywords. Information on the study design, patient characteristics, prevalence of depression, and its associated risk factors were extracted from included studies.
Results: There were 22 studies included in this review with a total of 3055 patients. The prevalence of depression in the liver transplant candidates ranges between 2% and 80%. Studies that used diagnostic tools found a narrower range of prevalence (4.5-43%) as compared to the self-administered questionnaires (2-80%). Studies that used Beck Depression Inventory reported a higher prevalence than those studies which used Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (median = 28%, range = 2-80% versus median 17%, range 6.1-25.8%). A number of socio-demographic factors, illness-related and psychosocial factors were found to be associated with depression.
Conclusion: Prevalence of depression in liver transplant candidates is high, and early detection will improve survival and quality of life.
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