A comparison of end-stage renal disease and Alzheimer's disease in the elderly through a comprehensive geriatric assessment.

PURPOSE: The percentage of patients receiving haemodialysis (HD) treatment and of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) within the elderly population is increasing day by day. Functional dependence, malnutrition, cognitive impairment or depression impairs the quality of life and increases mortality in both diseases. This study aims to assess HD and AD patients through comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and compare their results.

METHOD: A total of 579 patients (121 HD, 188 AD patients and 270 control subjects) over the age of 65, who were followed at geriatric and nephrology departments between January 2011 and July 2012, were included in this prospective cross-sectional study. Mini-Mental State Examination, Mini-Nutritional Assessment, Geriatric Depression Scale and basic and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living indexes were applied to all patients. The results obtained were compared among the patient groups.

RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 72.6 ± 8.2. Based on the CGA findings, the results for both groups were considerably different from control group. While depression scores were observed higher in HD patients than in AD patients, cognition, nutrition and functional capacity were mostly affected in AD patients.

CONCLUSION: The management of geriatric HD patients is substantially complex. Depression, cognitive impairment and decrease in functional capacity can often be overlooked, so findings may be ascribed to underlying kidney impairment. Therefore, comprehensive geriatric assessment should be regularly performed in HD patients in order to detect problems at an early stage, to take necessary preventative measures, to initiate treatment as soon as possible and to enhance quality of life.