Bone pain assessment and relationship with parathyroid hormone and health-related quality of life in hemodialysis.

Renal osteodystrophy is a common problem in renal failure patients. Bone pain is a common manifestation of renal osteodystrophy. The aim of the study was to assess the intensity of chronic bone pain via visual analog scale (VAS) and its relationship with parathyroid hormone, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and depression in hemodialysis patients. Ninety-five patients recruited were asked to rate chronic bone pain via VAS. Depressive symptoms and HRQoL were assessed by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Short-Form 36, respectively. VAS was positively correlated with intact parathyroid hormone (r = +0.322, p = 0.001), phosphorus (r = +0.300, p = 0.003), alkaline phosphatase (r = +0.275, p = 0.009), and negatively correlated with physical component (r = -0.320, p = 0.002) and mental component summary scores (r = -0.247, p = 0.016). In multivariate linear regression analysis, logVAS was independently associated with serum phosphorus (β = 0.072, 95% confidence interval: 0.020-0.123, p = 0.007), log intact parathyroid hormone (β = 0.176, 95% confidence interval: 0.041-0.310, p = 0.011), and physical component summary score (β = -0.018, 95% confidence interval: -0.031-(-0.005), p = 0.008). VAS is correlated with bone metabolism markers, namely, intact parathyroid hormone, and may be used to assess the intensity of chronic bone pain. The intensity of chronic bone pain is related with HRQoL in hemodialysis patients.