Quality of Life and Psychiatric Comorbidities in CKD Patients on Hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities among hemodialysis patients along with their impact on QOL.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

An observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 96 patients undergoing hemodialysis for at least three months. Assessments included Psychiatric History taking proforma, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Modified Kuppuswamy Scale, and WHOQOL-BREF. Data were analyzed using SPSS v25, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

Psychiatric comorbidities were present in 62 (64.58%) cases, with both anxiety and depression being present in 29 (46.77%) patients. Compared to those without psychiatric comorbidities, patients with psychiatric comorbidities had significantly lower total median score (47 vs. 71), scores in the physical domain (46 vs. 64), psychological domain (46 vs. 79), social domain (58 vs. 75), and the environmental domain (38 vs. 66) (P < 0.0001 for all). HAM-D and HAM-A scores showed a strong positive correlation between themselves (ρ = 0.522, P < 0.0001) and strong negative correlations with all WHO QOL domains, including physical, psychological, social, and environmental scores (ρ ranging from -0.702 to -0.811, all P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Psychiatric comorbidities, particularly depression and anxiety, were highly prevalent in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis and had a profound negative impact on their quality of life.