Health‐related quality of life among haemodialysis patients – relationship with clinical indicators, morbidity and mortality

Aim. To verify the association between quality of life and morbidity, mortality and clinical indicators in haemodialysis patients. Background. While a number of therapies have been reported to increase quality of life in end‐stage renal disease, patients report that they remain substantially burdened by limited physical functioning and by dialysis‐related symptoms. Indeed, quality of life may be the most critical outcome for those undergoing haemodialysis. Furthermore, quality of life has been associated with clinical indicators, morbidity and survival in haemodialysis patients. Design. Descriptive cohort study of patients undergoing haemodialysis at the Nephrology Hemodialysis Unit of the Hospital de Clínicas in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Methods. Forty haemodialysis patients were followed for 12 months and evaluated for demographics, time on dialysis, diabetes mellitus, clinical indicators (dose of dialysis – Kt/V, haematocrit and serum albumin) and comorbidities. The comorbidities were evaluated with the end‐stage renal disease severity index and health‐related quality of life with The Medical Outcomes Study 36 (SF‐36). Results. Men present higher health‐related quality of life scores in the energy and fatigue component (P = 0·04). Patients treated for over one year at the beginning of follow up and patients with less schooling had better results in General Health Perception (P