Depression, Anxiety and Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis and Renal Transplantation

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Psychiatry Department, Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

2 Department of Internal Medicine, Nephrology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

3 Psychiatry Department, Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Background
The aim of this study was to compare the presence and severity of depression and accompanying anxiety symptoms between patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) and renal transplant recipients (RTRs); and to correlate depression and anxiety, with the quality of life (QoL) and life satisfaction affection in both groups.
Patients and Methods
A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 64 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who were recruited consecutively from the nephrology outpatient clinic of Kasr Al Ainy, Cairo University Hospitals over a period of one year. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire (MHQ), PCASEE Questionnaire for QoL and Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS) were applied.
Results
The study results showed that depression, anxiety and somatization in the HD group had significant higher scores than the RTRs group. Patients on HD were significantly less satisfied with their life and showed lower scores on the physical domain while patients with RTRs had significant lower scores on the economic domain of QoL. Life satisfaction and most domains of QoL were negatively correlated with depression, anxiety and somatization in the HD group.
Conclusions
In conclusion, Depression accompanied with a variety of anxiety symptoms constituted determinants of poor QoL in the setting of ESRD and consequently, less life satisfaction.

Keywords