Quality of life in adult survivors beyond 10 years after liver, kidney, and heart transplantation

Background. The yearly increasing survival rates testify to the success of transplantation, but questions remain relating to the quality of life (QOL) associated with long-term survival. Methods. A sample of 126 liver recipients (Liver-R), 229 kidney recipients (Kidney-R), and 113 heart recipients (Heart-R) with more than 10 years posttransplant follow-up were included in the study with a response rate of 86%. Respondents were matched with healthy subjects recruited from general population (GP). The three groups of recipients and GP subjects completed a French version of the questionnaire used by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, Pittsburgh, PA, and were compared for each score, with adjustments for age and sex. Results. Personal function and measures of disease by the transplant recipients were significantly worse than in the GP (P