Sexual dysfunction and activity avoidance in female kidney transplant patients

Sexual and reproductive health screening and counseling in adolescent and young adult transplant recipients

Adolescents and young adults with and without chronic illnesses partake in risk-taking behavior. Clinicians in transplant clinics should be aware of the prevalence of risk-taking behavior in their adolescent and young adult solid organ transplant patients in order to provide complete care. Creating an environment where teens and young adults feel comfortable discussing risky behavior is important and includes creating a privacy policy and increasing comfort of the healthcare provider in asking sensitive questions. This review is intended to help the providers in the transplant clinic screen for and counsel about risk-taking behaviors with their adolescent and young adult patients, specifically around sexual and reproductive health.

Social support mediates the relationship between illness perception and psychosocial adaptation among young and middle-aged kidney transplant recipients in China

Background

No research has yet been done on social support's influence on the association between illness perception and psychosocial adaptation among young and middle-aged kidney transplant recipients in China. Accordingly, it remains unclear how medical personnel can assist patients in successfully adjusting to the early postoperative period and improving their health.

Objective

This study sought to explore the influence of illness perception and social support on the psychosocial adaptation of young and middle-aged recipients of kidney transplants in China during the early postoperative period.

Methods

This study adopted a cross-sectional design. The study included 236 young and middle-aged kidney transplant recipients from a tertiary hospital in China. Demographic and disease-related data were collected. Additionally, the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self-Report, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were used to assess participants' psychosocial adaptation, illness perception, and social support, respectively. The model was examined using descriptive analysis, Pearson's correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and the PROCESS Macro in SPSS 26.0.

Results

A total of 176 (74.56%) participants reported an average psychosocial adaptation score >50, which is relatively negative. Marital status, education level, residence, per capita monthly income (in Chinese yuan), medical insurance, work status, post-transplant time, body mass index, creatinine status, and complications were all related to psychosocial adaptation (p < 0.05). The more negative their illness perception and the worse their social support, the worse the psychosocial adaptation of young and middle-aged kidney transplant recipients. Further, the effect of illness perception on psychosocial adaptation was partially mediated by social support (36.56%).

Conclusion

In general, the psychosocial adaption level of young and middle-aged kidney transplant recipients was negative during the early postoperative period. Healthcare teams should assist patients in building a positive illness perception shortly following kidney transplantation, while also providing psychological care and support to help them cope with the onset of psychosocial issues.

Incidence of sexually transmitted INFECTIONS is lower among kidney transplant recipients compared to the general population- a nationwide cohort study

AIM

The burden of sexually transmitted infections (STI) among solid-organ transplant recipients is currently unknown. We studied the risk of STIs among kidney transplant recipients compared with the general population in a nationwide cohort.

METHODS

Between 2002 and 2019, all microbiological findings of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum (syphilis), and human immunodeficiency virus among kidney transplant recipients <65 years and transplanted between 1995 and 2017 in our country were captured from statutory national registries. Data from the general population of Finland, population 5.5 million, were used for comparisons. Incidence of STIs and age and sex-adjusted standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated.

RESULTS

Altogether 3612 transplantations, with a total follow-up of 27 069 person-years were included. A total of 30 STIs microbiological findings of STI were confirmed in 25 patients: C. trachomatis (N = 27), N. gonorrhoeae (N = 2), and syphilis (N = 1). No hospitalizations associated with STIs were detected. The risk of STI after kidney transplantation was significantly lower compared to the general population (SIR, 0.57, 95% CI 0.39-0.80). The lower risk of STIs was more pronounced in female patients (SIR 0.40, 95% CI 0.20-0.74), whereas in male patients the difference was statistically not significant (SIR 0.69, 95% CI 0.44-1.04)). Of the confirmed STI cases, 30% were detected in patients who received their transplants during adolescence.

CONCLUSIONS

Within the Finnish kidney transplant population, the age and sex-adjusted incidence of sexually transmitted infections is not higher compared to the general population. Highest frequency of infections was seen among patients transplanted during adolescence. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.