Psychiatric disorders and outcome following cardiac transplantation.

Background: Psychosocial factors are frequently included in determining candidacy for cardiac transplantation. Although there are some data demonstrating a link between preoperative psychosocial status and postoperative outcome, a definitive answer has yet to be reached.

Methods: We studied 107 consecutive patients, transplanted from January 1990 to September 1991, with a retrospective review of pretransplant psychiatric evaluations to define a DSM III-R Axis I diagnosis.