Depression in hemodialysis patients.

Depression is the most frequent psychological complication of haemodialysis (HD) patients (pts) and has been associated with impaired Quality of Life (QoL). The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of depression in HD pts in relation to sociodemographic factors and the relationship between depression and QoL. 200 pts from Clinic for haemodialysis in Sarajevo, B&H were participating in the study. Mean age was 57.26+/-13.78 years and mean HD duration was 64.26+/-58.18 months. From the test material we applied BDI and SF-36. 51% of our pts have shown depression (BDI>11) in various degrees (30%-mild depression, 8.5%-moderate depression and 12.5%-severe depression). As we could expect, the most emphasized symptoms of depression were somatic symptoms. 55.5% of pts have shown QoL lower then average. Sociodemographic data such as gender, marital status and HD duration did not influence significantly on pt's QoL and occurrence of depression (p>0.05). As the age of the pts increased, level of depression increased too and QoL significantly decreased (p<0.05). Employed pts have shown significantly better QoL and lower level of depression in relation to unemployed pts (p<0.05). As the educational level of pts increased, QoL increased too and level of depression significantly decreased (p<0.05). Pts in 1st HD shift were significantly more depressed and have significantly worse mental health in compare to pts in 3rd HD shift (p<0.05). Our results showed a high prevalence of depressive symptoms among the study group that was linked to trend of poor QoL.