Perceived control and health-related quality of life in heart transplant recipients.
Lynn V Doering, Belinda Chen, Mario Deng and 3 others
PMID 29260888WHAT IT FOUND
Heart transplant recipients with lower perceived control reported more depression and anxiety and poorer quality of life.
Symptoms partly explained the link, but this cross-sectional study cannot show that improving control improves outcomes.
Key findings
01Among 113 heart transplant recipients, 20% reported at least moderate depressive symptoms, 49% reported clinically significant anxiety, and 46% reported low perceived control.
02Patients with low perceived control were more likely to be female, had higher anxiety and depressive symptoms, and had lower cardiac-specific and general quality-of-life scores across nearly all domains.
03Depressive symptoms appeared to mediate the association between perceived control and general quality of life, and when depressive and anxiety symptoms were modeled together, only depressive symptoms remained significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it could not show whether perceived control changed over time or whether it caused symptoms and quality of life. All measures were self-report, although the questionnaires had reported validity and reliability. Few female heart transplant recipients were included, so sex differences in perceived control are uncertain. The sample came from three national transplant centers and may not represent all heart transplant recipients. No intervention was tested, so the paper cannot show that improving perceived control improves quality of life.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The paper is listed as supported by NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving perceived control will improve mood or quality of life. The study was cross-sectional and found associations, so it cannot show that changing control changes outcomes.