Level of Depression and Anxiety on Quality of Life Among Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

Sameeha Alshelleh; Hussein Alhawari; Abdullah Alhouri; Bilal Abu-Hussein; Ashraf Oweis

doi:10.2147/IJGM.S406535

Level of Depression and Anxiety on Quality of Life Among Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

Int J Gen Med. 2023 May 10:16:1783-1795. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S406535. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Sameeha Alshelleh¹, Hussein Alhawari¹, Abdullah Alhouri², Bilal Abu-Hussein³, Ashraf Oweis⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
² Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, UK.
³ Department of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
⁴ Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Amman, Jordan.

Abstract

Background: Despite the growing concern worldwide regarding the quality of life (QoL) and mental well-being among chronic kidney disease (CKD), a few research has been done to address this issue. The study aims to measure depression, anxiety, and QoL prevalence among Jordanian patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis and how all of these variables are correlated.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional, interview-based study on patients at the Jordan University Hospital (JUH) dialysis unit. Sociodemographic factors were collected, and the prevalence of depression, anxiety disorder, and QOL was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD7), and the WHOQOL-BREF, respectively.

Results: In a study of 66 patients, 92.4% had depression, and 83.3% had generalised anxiety disorder. Females had significantly higher depression scores than males (mean = 6.2 ± 3.77 vs 2.9 ± 2.8, p < 0.001), and single patients had significantly higher anxiety scores than married patients (mean = 6.1 ± 6 vs 2.9 ± 3.5, p = 0.03). Age was positively correlated with depression scores (rs= 0.269, p = 0.03), and QOL domains showed an indirect correlation with GAD7 and PHQ9 scores. Males had higher physical functioning scores than females (mean = 64.82 vs 58.87, p = 0.016), and patients who studied in universities had higher physical functioning scores than those with only school education (mean of College/University = 78.81 vs mean of School Education = 66.46, p = 0.046). Patients taking <5 medications had higher scores in the environmental domain (p = 0.025).

Conclusion: The high prevalence of depression, GAD, and low QOL in ESRD patients on dialysis highlights the need for caregivers to provide psychological support and counselling for these patients and their families. This can promote psychological health and prevent the onset of psychological disorders.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease; depression; end stage kidney disease; generalized anxiety disorder; hemodialysis; quality of life.