background Simultaneous pancreas and kidney (spk) transplantation is the only curative therapy for diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease (esrd). Limited research has been done on the the prevalence of psychopathology, personality characteristics and the quality of life in patients pre- and post spk transplantation.
aim To evaluate diabetic patients in different ferent phases of the spk transplantation process at the national referral center in the Netherlands.
methods We assessed 45 patients while on the waiting list for spk transplantation, 73 patients after undergoing spk transplantation and a control group of 45 patients with type I diabetes mellitus. The Brief Symptom Inventory (bsi) questionnaire was administered for psychological status, the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology Short (dapps) for personality characteristics and the SF-36 questionnaire to assess health-related quality of life.
results Psychopathology was prevalent in all groups, but did not differ between the groups. The pre- and post-spk transplant groups showed higher scores on emotional dysregulation, intimacy and attachment problems (p < 0.05) compared to the type 1 diabetes group. Quality of life was similar in the pre- and post-spk transplants, whereas quality of life was highest in the diabetes group in both the emotional and physical domains (p < 0.05).
conclusion Psychopathology and personality disturbances are highly prevalent in diabetic patients with esrd. Although spk transplantation is a potent tool for treatment of diabetic patients with EsdR in terms of medical advantages, this was not reflected in both mental and physical quality of life.