Quality of life during hemodialysis and study dialysis treatment in patients referred to teaching hospitals in Urmia-Iran in 2007

Background: Quality of life (QOL) assessment in patients on chronic Hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) has rarely been carried out. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life during hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatment in patients referred to teaching hospitals in Urmia, Iran. Methods: All chronic HD and PD patients in Taleghani and Imam Khomeini Teaching Hospitals in Urmia were requested to fill in the validated with a health-related quality-of-life SF36 questionnaire for assessing health status in five dimensions and on a visual analogue scale, allowing computation of a predicted QOL value to be compared. Results: Of the 558 questionnaires distributed to chronic HD patients, 455 were returned (response rate 82%). Fifty out of 64 PD patients (78%) returned the questionnaires. The two groups were similar in age, gender and duration of dialysis treatment. Mean QOL was rated at 60±18 for HD and 61±19 for PD, for a mean predicted QOL value of 62±30 and 58±32, respectively. Results of the five dimensions were similar in both groups, except for a greater restriction in usual activities for PD patients (p= 0.007). The highest scores were recorded for self-care, with 71% HD and 74% PD patients reporting no limitation, and the lowest scores for usual activities, with 14% HD and 23% PD patients reporting severe limitation. Experiencing pain/discomfort (for HD and PD) or anxiety/depression (for PD) had the highest impact on QOL. Conclusion: The results show that QOL on PD was better, but such studies have not been performed in various areas in Iran and the results may be different because of the involvement of many factors such as geographical, socioeconomic and cultural items. More studies are required to verify the value of the SF36 measurements in predicting the clinical condition of patients with ESRD and their outcomes.