Advances in the management of congenital heart disease (CHD) patients have enabled improvement in long-term survival even for those with serious defects. Research priorities (for patients, families and clinicians) have shifted from a focus on how to improve survival to exploring long-term outcomes in patients with CHD. A comprehensive appraisal of available evidence could inform best practice to maximize health and well-being, and identify research gaps to direct further research toward patient and clinical need. We aimed to critically appraise all available published systematic reviews of health and well-being outcomes in adult patients with CHD.
We conducted an umbrella review, including any systematic reviews that assessed the association of having vs. not having CHD with any long-term health (physical or mental), social (e.g., education, occupation) or well-being [e.g., quality of life (QoL)] outcome in adulthood (≥18-years).
Out of 1330 articles screened, we identified five systematic reviews of associations of CHD with adult outcomes. All but one (which studied QoL) explored health outcomes: one cardiovascular, two mental, and one mortality after transplant. CHD patients had a higher risk of stroke, coronary heart disease and heart failure, with the pooled relative risk (RR) for any outcome of 3.12 (95% CI: 3.01 to 3.24), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 99%) explained by the outcome being studied (stronger association for heart failure) and geography (stronger in Europe compared with other regions). CHD patients had a higher risk of anxiety (OR = 2.58 (1.45 to 4.59)], and higher mean scores for depression/anxiety symptoms (difference in means = −0.11 SD (–0.28 to 0.06), I2 = 94%)]. Compared with patients having a cardiac transplant for other (non-CHD) diseases, CHD patients had higher short-term mortality (RR at 30-days post-transplant = 2.18 [1.62 to 2.93)], with moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 41%) explained by previous surgery (higher mortality with prior Fontan/Glenn operation). All domains of QoL were lower in patients with Fontan’s circulation than non-CHD adults.
Adults with CHD have poorer cardiovascular, mental health and QoL outcomes, and higher short-term mortality after transplant. The paucity of systematic reviews, in particular for outcomes such as education, occupation and lifestyles, highlights the need for this to be made a priority by funders and researchers.
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