Quality of life in patients undergoing hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis treatment.

BACKGROUND: Does the type of dialysis treatment make a difference to the quality of life (QoL) and mental health of renal patients in Athens? The study investigated the differences in 84 in-center hemodialysis (HD) and 60 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD/PD) patients.

METHODS: Patient-reported assessments included: WHOQOL-BREF inventory of World Health Organization, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) of Goldberg, State-Trait Anxiety Inνentory, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC).

RESULTS: Results indicated that HD patients reported lower QoL in the environment and social relationships domains. More symptoms were also reported in the GHQ-28 subscales of anxiety/insomnia and severe depression. This measurement includes sleep problems and suicidal thoughts.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirm the differences between the two treatment modalities, indicating that HD patients have poorer QoL in several aspects of their environment and their social relationships. Both groups reported elevated depression. However, HD patients reported more suicidal thoughts and sleep problems compared to PD patients.