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 S7,26±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