Patients on hemodialysis with multiple comorbidities have limited physical activity, resulting in poor health, low activity participation, and low quality of life. Accordingly, the nursing care provided to such patients should include regular physical activity training programs. Therefore, this cross-sectional descriptive study investigated whether patients on hemodialysis with and without comorbidities have different levels of physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL); the correlations among the comorbidities, physical activity, and HRQoL of the two cohorts were also assessed. The 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey version 2 and International Physical Activity Questionnaire were employed to collect data from 120 patients on hemodialysis. An independent samples t-test and univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted. The overall HRQoL of patients with comorbidities was lower than that of patients without comorbidities (p = 0.008). Compared with patients who participated in low-intensity physical activity, the overall HRQoL of patients who participated in moderate-intensity physical activity was higher (p < 0.001). The overall HRQoL of patients with comorbidities who participated in low-intensity physical activity was lower than that of those who participated in moderate-intensity physical activity (p < 0.001). Moderate-intensity physical activity was correlated with higher HRQoL for patients with comorbidities. This finding supports the implementation of effective physical activity intervention measures. Furthermore, it supports the promotion of patient self-management and the implementation of regular exercise programs and lifestyle changes, and patients on hemodialysis can benefit from the future management of physical activities.
Keywords: comorbidity; health-related quality of life (HRQoL); hemodialysis; physical activity.