Perceived State of Health is Worse in Kidney Recipients Younger Than 60 Years vs Older Than 60 Years

ObjectiveTo evaluate the differences in perceived state of health (PSH) according to patient age younger or older than 60 years.Patients and MethodsOne hundred sixty-two patients were entered on the waiting list for renal transplantation from July 2003 at 4 hospitals in California and were observed prospectively for 2 years. Data were obtained at baseline and at 3 and 12 months after transplantation. All patients answered a generic Perceived State of Health (PSH) questionnaire, the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the EuroQol (EQ-5D) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the t test for independent variables and the χ2 test for contingency tables.ResultsPatients aged 60 years or older had higher PSH scores compared with those younger than 60 years on all dimensions of the SF-36 and on the 2 summary scores. Scores for the physical domains were significantly improved at all follow-up visits. After transplantation, scores for the EQ-5D were higher for older patients vs younger patients (mean [SD], 80 [16] vs 67 [14]; P = .01). The PSH score for the older patients was similar to that for the general population (>45 points). The PSH scores for the physical and mental health domains were worse for the younger patients compared with the general population; no differences were noted for clinical variables.ConclusionPatients older than 60 years have higher PSH scores compared with patients younger than 60 years. However, scores for the younger patients were significantly improved at 1 year after transplantation.