Prevalence of depression in patients on hemodialysis and its impact on quality of life

Objective: The aim was to address the prevalence of depression in a group of patients on hemodialys and determine its effect on quality of life (QoL).Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted between 1st March, 2007 and 28th Feb., 2008 in a district of western Turkey. The study group included 294 hemodialys patients. The questionnaire included the patients� sociodemographic characteristics, Beck Depression Scale, and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36. Chi-square test and Spearman correlation analyses were used for statistical analyses, with a p value lower than 0.05 being considered significant.Results: The average age of the study group was 55.89±15.22 years (range=19-86). Prevalence of depression was found to be 27.9%, and was significantly higher in women, in those with older age, in those with lower level of education and in unemployed patients (p 0.05 in each one). The mean scores received from all domains in the SF-36 were significantly lower in depressive patients (p 0.001 in each one). As the scores that patients received from the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) increased, the scores obtained from all domains in SF-36 showed decrease (p 0.001, for each one).Conclusion: Depression adversely affecting QoL is a common health problem in hemodialysis patients. Thus, periodic screenings should be done for detection, prevention and control of depression