Psychological distress in blood donors notified of HTLV-I/II infection. Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study

BACKGROUND: Blood donations in the United States have been screened for antibody to human T‐cell lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV‐I/II) since November 1988. Although clinically diagnosed illness associated with HTLV‐I/II remains relatively uncommon, blood donors notified of HTLV infection fre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.) Pa.), 1998-11, Vol.38 (11-12), p.1056-1062
Main Authors: Guiltinan, A.M., Murphy, E.L., Horton, J. A., Nass, C.C., McEntire, R.L., Watanabe, K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
AIDS/HIV
Analysis of Variance
Anxiety
Blood Donors - psychology
Disease Notification
Female
HTLV-I Infections - psychology
HTLV-II Infections - psychology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Regression Analysis
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
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Summary:BACKGROUND: Blood donations in the United States have been screened for antibody to human T‐cell lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV‐I/II) since November 1988. Although clinically diagnosed illness associated with HTLV‐I/II remains relatively uncommon, blood donors notified of HTLV infection frequently report negative psychological and social effects following notification. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: To assess psychological outcomes, the General Well‐Being Scale, a standardized 18‐ item questionnaire, was administered to 464 HTLV‐I/II‐positive donors and 91 sex partners at five blood centers in the United States following notification of HTLV‐I/II infection. The questionnaire was also given to 735 HTLV‐I/II‐negative donors. RESULTS: Scores for donors seropositive for HTLV‐I and HTLV‐II showed significantly more psychological distress than did scores for seronegative donors (p < 0.0005) or a large national sample (p < 0.05). Both HTLV‐I (p = 0.02) and HTLV‐II (p = 0.01) seropositivity remained significant predictors of lower overall well‐being scores after analysis controlling for race, age, gender, education, income, donation type, time since notification, self‐reported health status, and intravenous drug use. Variables that predicted higher overall scores were negative HTLV status, older age, higher income, better health, fewer sick days, and fewer work limitations due to health problems. CONCLUSION: Increased psychological distress may be related to notification of HTLV infection among blood donors in the United States.
ISSN:0041-1132
1537-2995
DOI:10.1046/j.1537-2995.1998.38111299056317.x