Chapter 35: Methods to Assess Quality of Life and Functional Status and Their Applications in Clinical Care in Elderly Patients with CKD

Elderly patients and their caregivers are faced with a wide variety of complex treatment decisions ranging from the risks and benefits of antihypertensive therapy to the decision to pursue renal replacement therapy versus palliative care. There is a great deal of heterogeneity in health status among elderly patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and endstage kidney disease (ESKD), and age alone cannot reliably predict outcomes. In addition to measures of disease severity and psychosocial function (discussed elsewhere), measures of quality of life (QOL) and functional status may provide useful information to aid in prognostic stratification and help guide treatment decisions. QOL and functional status themselves are important outcomes that need to be carefully considered along with survival when evaluating treatment options. In this context, we review the methods to assess QOL and functional status, and their applications in clinical care, focusing on ESKD-related interventions and outcomes.