psychological status of dialysis patients

dialysis as therapeutic solution for chronic kidney dysfunctions by itself is a chronic stress for patients and can lead to psychological problems in them. this study examined the psychological well-being of two dialysis (no=100) and non-dialysis (no=100) patients in two hospitals – shahid hashemi nejad and imam khomeini hospitals – during the earl y year of 1992. the scale of scl-90-r was used for the screening of the two groups. results indicated that 21% of the patients demonstrated depression and 12% identified with having problems in interpersonal relationship. moreover, in paranoid ideas 12%, somatic complaints 9%, obsessive compulsve 7%, anxiety 6%, phobia 5%, psychoses 4%, and agression 3% of the patients, scored well over the cut off point. these findings are also examined with the demographics of patients, e.g. age and sex, as well as the duration of dialysis they has undergone.