Contributing Factors in Health-Related Quality of Life Assessment of ESRD Patients: A Single Center Study

Background: End stage renal disease (ESRD) patients suffer from low health related quality of life (HRQoL) and according to a report presented at the 40th annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, it is predicted that by 2020, the number of patients with ESRD will increase to nearly 60% in comparison to that of 2005.

Methods: We measured HRQoL among 152 patients on dialysis by kidney disease quality of life-short form (KDQoL-SF) questionnaire and compared KDQoL scores by demographic factors such as gender, age, educational level, occupation and marital status.

Results: Male gender, age <50 years, higher education level, marital status and employment status had a better Physical Component summary (PCS), Mental Component Summary (MCS) and Kidney Disease Component Summary (KDCS). The mean scores of PCS and MCS were significantly decreased by increasing the age (P=0.004 and 0.008, respectively). In addition, MCS and KDCS scores was significantly higher in employed and KDCS was significantly better in literate patients. The mean score of KDCS was higher than MCS and PCS (52.6 ± 13.5 vs 41.6 ± 20.9 and 39.06 ± 19.2, respectively with P<0.001).

Conclusions: Association of poorer HRQoL with preventable or controllable factors suggests that attention should be given to psychosocial and medical interventions to improve HRQoL in hemodialysis patients.