INTRODUCTION: Life quality has been a subject of growing research in studies of population health, in all times of ages. A chronic condition is a factor that interferes with the conduct of activities of daily living and the perception of individual well-being, as is the case of patients being treated by hemodialysis. OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics and to analyze the possible associations between the CRF and life quality related to health in a representative sample of patients which was worsted in the city of Caruaru, PE. METHOD: The survey was conducted in dialysis treatment centers in Caruaru city, where all population with CRF is attended (n = 192), being 82 patients of the Regional Hemodialysis Center (Centro Regional de Hemodiálise do Agreste - CRHA) and 110 patients of the SOS Rim Clinic - Caruaru's Nephrological Clinical. For the composition of the sample was accomplished a census and all patients enrolled were initially preselected first for study. RESULTS: It was verified that the majority of study participants reported some degree of discomfort: muscle pain (69.4%), cramps (89.8%), itching (67.3%), weakness (73.5%), reduced net (91.8%), decreased food (85.7%) and ability to work (75.5%). When asked if the physical effort interferes with their quality of life, this study revealed that 70.3% say so. In relation to health, 80.6% of people say that kidney disease interferes in a negative way on the quality of life. CONCLUSION: The data in this study indicate that patients with CRF have decreased in life quality due to musculoskeletal repercussions such as cramps, muscle weakness and physical effort.
Life quality; Chronic renal failure; KDQOL-SF
