Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychiatric disorders (anxiety and depression) and quality of life (QOL) in nondialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Methods: QOL was evaluated in a sample of 57 nondialysis patients with CKD using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire comprising 8 scales, including the physical component summary and mental component summary measures. Depression and anxiety were estimated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, respectively.
Results: Depression and anxiety scores were negatively correlated with 7 of the 8 scales of the Short Form 36 questionnaire, and with the physical component summary and mental component summary scores, despite 38.6% patients with depression and 54.4% with anxiety, whereas QOL in the depression group, the anxiety group, and the anxiety and depression comorbid group was lower than that for those without the corresponding psychiatric disorders (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: This study demonstrates that depression and anxiety, commonly encountered in patients with CKD, could be a risk factor for QOL in these patients.