OBJECTIVE: Among chronic diseases, end-stage kidney disease (ESRD) is distinguished for its negative impact on quality of life (QoL). This study intended to verify change of QoL in ESRD patients on hemodialysis during 12 months and identify factors associated with worsening or improvement of QoL. METHODS: The sample comprised a cohort of 93 patients from a single hospital located in the State of Ceará, Brazil. The Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was administered in 2004 and 2005 to measure QoL in 8 dimensions and 2 components (physical and mental) scaled from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). The sample was stratified into three categories: no change, improvement and worsening of QoL according to physical and mental components. RESULTS: There was positive mean variation (improvement) of the score due to the dimension Role-emotional (36.0 ± 40.1 vs. 57.0 ± 45.7; p=0.004) and Mental Component (53.4 ± 22.2 vs. 61.6 ± 23.5; p=0.021). Patients with a negative variation (worsening) due to Mental Component had been on hemodialysis for less time when compared to patients with no change (36.4 ± 32.9 vs. 74.0 ± 54.8 months; p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: In ESRD patients a longer time on hemodialysis was associated with improvement in mental aspects of QoL. Psychological adaptation, which occurs in other chronic diseases, could be the explanation of this outcome.
Quality of life; Hemodialysis; End-stage kidney disease
