Advances in TransplantationKidney transplantationA Study on Adherence to Follow-up, Quality of Life, and Associated Factors Among Renal Transplant Recipients in China

•We developed the Kidney Transplantation Recipient's Adherence to Follow-up Questionnaire and tested psychometric properties.•We performed quantitative research on adherence to follow-up among kidney transplant recipients.•We found that the patients' physical functioning, social functioning, treatment, subjective satisfaction, and total points of QoL, but not psychologic functioning, were affected by adherence to follow-up.

BackgroundAdherence to follow-up is vital for the medical surveillance of the postoperative blood concentration, but relatively little research has examined it, and there is less study on relationships between adherence to follow-up and quality of life (QoL). We investigated the status of adherence to follow-up and QoL and associated factors among kidney transplantation recipients in China.MethodsA cross-sectional study with the use of a Kidney Transplantation Recipient's Adherence to Follow-Up Questionnaire and a Quality of Life of Kidney Transplantation Recipients Questionnaire was conducted among 250 kidney transplantation recipients in Changsha, China, from January to March in 2015.ResultsThe mean score for adherence to follow-up was 54.71 ± 6.46. Time after transplantation was the only factor affecting adherence to follow-up scores (β = −0.210; P < .05). The mean total score for QoL was 140.39 ± 13.56; physical functioning, 23.72 ± 3.33; psychologic functioning, 24.46 ± 4.23; social functioning, 44.43 ± 6.80; treatment, 24.81 ± 2.97; and subjective satisfaction, 21.28 ± 3.15. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that adherence to follow-up, economic level, job status, donor source, and original disease affected with QoL.ConclusionsAdherence to follow-up decreases with time after transplantation, and better compliance is associated with better QoL in all areas. Improvements in adherence to follow-up, income and reimbursement, psychologic guidance, and social support may increase QoL of kidney transplantat recipients.