Email this article Evaluation of quality of life and psychosocial factors in hemodialysis patients: A medical student-led observational survey study from a Turkish university hospital
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20528/cjpm.2025.03.001
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Background: Other than kidney-related problems, haemodialysis patients often face reduced mobility and the burden of chronic illness, along with other factors that negatively affect their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Depression, fatigue, and pain are common, yet these issues are often overlooked during routine clinical follow-up. We aimed to assess fatigue, depressive mood, and functional limitations in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing haemodialysis and to examine their associations with demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, observational survey was conducted at a university haemodialysis unit in Türkiye. Sixty-four adult patients completed a modified questionnaire based on the SF-36 Health Survey, incorporating dialysis-specific domains. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews administered by trained medical students. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to examine associations between symptom domains and patient characteristics.
Results: Of the 64 patients included (60.9% male, median age 61–70 years), 75.0% received dialysis three times weekly. Post-dialysis fatigue was reported as moderate (35.9%), severe (29.7%), or mild (25.0%). Clinically relevant depressive symptoms were reported by 18.8% of patients, while 43.8% described at least moderate pain. A strong association was found between pain severity and daily activity limitation (χ² = 58.3, df = 9, p < 0.001). Depression was not significantly associated with age, sex, or dialysis frequency.
Conclusions: In this cohort, fatigue, pain, and depressive mood were prominent among haemodialysis patients and more closely related to symptom burden than to demographic or dialysis treatment parameters. Routine patient-reported outcome screening and targeted psychosocial interventions may improve quality of life and daily functioning in this population.
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References
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