Pain and Health-Related Quality of Life in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: Results from a National Patient-Powered Registry.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) affects health-related quality of life (HRQoL) including pain, discomfort, fatigue, emotional distress, and impaired mobility. Stakeholders prioritized kidney cyst-related pain as an important core outcome domain in clinical trials, leading to the development of disease-specific assessment tools.

STUDY DESIGN: The ADPKD Registry is hosted online with multiple disease-specific patient-reported outcomes modules to characterize the patient experience in the United States.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: The ADPKD Registry allows consented participants access to a Core Questionnaire that includes demographics, comorbid conditions, current symptoms, and kidney function. Participants complete subsequent modules on a 3-month schedule, including 2 validated HRQoL tools, the ADPKD-Pain and Discomfort Scale (ADPKD-PDS), the ADPKD Impact Scale (ADPKD-IS) and a Healthcare Access and Utilization module.

EXPOSURES: Patient-reported latest estimated glomerular filtration rate or creatinine used to calculate stage of chronic kidney disease.

OUTCOMES: Health-related quality of life, measured using validated ADPKD-specific tools; access to polycystic kidney disease-specific health care.

ANALYTICAL APPROACH: For the 2 HRQoL tools, scores were calculated for physical, emotional, and fatigue domains; pain severity; and pain interference (based on the licensed user manuals). Associations to health care access were also assessed.

RESULTS: By July 2022, 1,086 individuals with ADPKD completed at least 1 of the HRQoL modules, and 319 completed 4 over a year. Participants were an average age of 53. In total, 71% were women, and 91% were White, with all chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages represented. In total, 2.5% reported being treated with dialysis, and 23% had a kidney transplant. CKD stage 4/5 participants reported the most dull kidney pain, whereas sharp kidney pain was evenly distributed across early CKD stages. Dull kidney pain had an impact on sleep regardless of CKD stage. There was a strong positive correlation between the ADPKD-PDS and ADPKD-IS. Patients with a neutral or positive HRQoL were less likely to have been denied access to imaging or other care.

LIMITATIONS: Currently, all the information collected is patient reported without health record validation of clinical variables.

CONCLUSIONS: Use of the HRQoL tools in the ADPKD Registry provided a broad cross-sectional assessment in the United States and provided granular information on the burden of pain across the CKD spectrum in ADPKD. The ADPKD Registry allowed assessment of ADPKD impact in a community that experiences decline in health and kidney function over decades.