Depression, Symptoms and the Quality of Life in Patients on Hemodialysis for End-Stage Renal Disease

Background: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a progressive, debilitating, chronic illness requiring nursing and medical interventions. The goal of this study was to explore the level of depression experienced by patients receiving hemodialysis (n = 146), and to compare the symptoms with the quality of life (QoL) between patients that were depressed and those that were not depressed. Methods: For this descriptive, cross-sectional survey, participants aged 18 and above were recruited from three different regions in the Republic of Korea. The level of depression, symptoms and QoL of the participants were measured by questionnaires from October to December 2006. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, the chi(2) and t test using the SPSS WIN 14.0 program. Results: The prevalence of depression (PHQ-9) among the participants was 25.34%. There were more symptoms reported in the depressed group of patients than in those that were not depressed. In addition, the QoL was not as good in the depressed group when compared to patients that were not depressed. Conclusion: Therefore, the evaluation for depression may be an important part of the management of patients with ESRD. Further research is needed to understand the causal relationship between depression and health outcomes. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel