How to assess quality of life in persons with chronic kidney disease

The relationship between grip strength with health-related quality of life and mortality in hemodialysis patients

Purpose

Hemodialysis (HD) is a therapeutic modality that enables the highest survival for individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In contrast, HD contributes to the pro-inflammatory state and may negatively affect the muscle strength and quality of life (QoL) of these individuals. To date, few studies have evaluated the association between decrease in strength and QoL in HD patients. Thus, our objective was to assess whether diminished muscle strength is associated with worse health related QoL and mortality.

Methods

We included patients aged ≥ 18 years on HD. Clinical and demographic data were collected from patients' medical records. Clinical data, nutritional status (laboratory, anthropometry, bioimpedance analysis) and health-related QoL (World Health Organization's quality of life questionnaire, WHOQOL-Bref) were analyzed at baseline. Mortality was recorded for 32 months.

Results

Among the 105 patients evaluated, the median age was 52 (43-64) years, and males were predominant (n = 73; 70%). The general median of QoL was 66.8 ± 11.9. Approximately 30% of patients were considered to have a worse QoL and 12,4% to have low muscle strength. This was not associated with QoL and mortality. HD vintage greater then to 5 years was associated with higher dissatisfaction in the perception of the environmental domain and overall QoL.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that low muscle strength was not associated with health-related QoL using the WHOQOL-Bref instrument and mortality.

Association Between Exercise Self-Efficacy and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Dialysis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Exercise self-efficacy is a vital determinant of an individual’s active participation in regular exercise, and exercise is a critical component of improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in dialysis patients. This study aimed to describe the relationship between exercise self-efficacy and HRQOL in dialysis patients.

Materials and Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shanghai, China. Structured questionnaires distributed to the patients collected socio-demographic and disease-related information. Physical activity was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire, and the exercise self-efficacy scale (ESES) was used to measure exercise self-efficacy. HRQOL was evaluated by the kidney disease quality of life instrument-short form version 1.3 (KDQOL-SF™ v1.3). Data were analyzed using a univariate generalized linear model, Spearman correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression.

Results

A positive association was observed between exercise self-efficacy and HRQOL (r = 0.310, p < 0.001). Physical activity as a predictor variable explained 9.8% of the variance in overall HRQOL (p < 0.001). Exercise self-efficacy explained an additional 7.1% of the HRQOL variance. In total, 24.6% of the variation in the HRQOL was explained by the socio-demographic variables, disease-related factors, physical activity, and exercise self-efficacy.

Conclusion

Overall, only 16.9% of the change in HRQOL was explained by physical activity and exercise self-efficacy. Future research is still needed to further explore the factors influencing the HRQOL in dialysis patients. However, this finding suggests the need to consider the importance of HRQOL and physical activity as well as exercise self-efficacy when developing intervention programs.