Tehran University of Medical Sciences The Research in Heart Yield and Translational Medicine (RHYTHM) 3115-7270 15 1 2020 01 29 12 17 EN Nazila Shahmansouri Psychosomatic Medicine Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Mehrdad Salehi Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Ali Reza Bakhshandeh Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Roya Sattarzadeh Badkoubeh Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Masoumeh Lotfi- Tokaldani Research Department, Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Ahmad Ali Noorbala Psychosomatic Medicine Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Azadeh Mashayekhi Psychosomatic Medicine Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2019 03 01 2019 05 22 Background: Heart transplantation is a major procedure which imposes high emotional stress on patients. Illness perception (IP) is a psychological issue which affects psychological adjustment after transplantation. This study aimed to investigate the association between IP and emotional status in Iranian post-heart transplantation patients. Methods: The present cross-sectional study, conducted between 2018 and 2019 in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran, recruited 121 post-heart transplantation patients. IP was measured using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), and emotional status was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The association between IP and depression/anxiety was assessed. Results: Men comprised 80.2% of the study population. The mean age of the participants was 43.9±12.95 years. Definite caseness for depression and anxiety was reported in 11.6% and 18.2% of the participants, respectively. The median score of IP was 55. The association between anxiety and IP in total IP and the 3 dimensions of IP was statically significant (P=0.015, P=0.018, P=0.002, and P=0.023 for the cognition, emotion, and understanding dimensions and the total IPQ, respectively). Additionally, the association between depression and IP was significant (P=0.001, P=0.029, and P=0.002 for the cognition and emotion dimensions and the total IPQ, correspondingly, except for the understanding dimension). Furthermore, lower levels of anxiety in the patients showed a greater impact on IP than did depression. Conclusion: There was a significant association between IP and depression and anxiety in our study population. Therefore, the diagnosis and management of anxiety and depression in heart transplantation patients may improve IP. The cross-sectional design of the present study precluded an investigation of the causality between IP and emotional status. https://rhythm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jthc/article/view/1047 https://rhythm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jthc/article/download/1047/886