ABSTRACT
Objective: To study mental health status in patients with hepatitis and cirrhosis. Methods: Symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90) were assessed to 123 patients with acute and chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Results: The factor scores of SCL-90 in those patients were significantly higher than those in Chinese norms (P﹤0.01), especially for somatization, depression, anxiety and hostility factors in patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. The factor scores existed elevatory tendency according to the severity of disease among the three groups, but the significant difference was only founded in psychotic factor. Multiple factor analysis showed that the type of liver diseases, age and marriage influenced the factor scores. Conclusion: Mental health problems exist in varying degrees in most patients with hepatitis and cirrhosis, and the type of liver diseases, age and marriage play an importance role in the factor scores of SCL-90.