| Title | [Differences in health-related quality of life between male and female hemodialysis patients] | | Author(s) | Vázquez I, Valderrábano F, Fort I, Jofré R, López-Gómez JM, Moreno F, Sanz-Guajardo D, Groupo Cooperativo Español para el estudio de la Calidad de Vida del paciente renal de la Sociedad Española de Nefrología | | Institution | D. Psicología Clínica y Psicobiología, Faculta de Psicología, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. lbolanosc@senefro.org | | Source | Nefrologia 2004; 24(2):167-78. | | MeSH | Adult Anemia Anxiety Comparative Study Cross-Sectional Studies Depression Educational Status Emotions Employment English Abstract Female Health Status Hemoglobins Humans Kidney Failure, Chronic Male Men Middle Aged Physical Fitness Quality of Life Renal Dialysis Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Social Behavior Spain Women
| | Abstract | BACKGROUND: Previous studies in renal patients have reported that women perceive a lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL) than men: however, these studies have been carried out without taking into account the gender-related differences shown in general population samples. The aims of the present study are: a) to define the HRQOL dimensions in which there are differences between men and women on chronic hemodialysis (HD), correcting then the differences on the generic dimensions by means of standardization by age and gender of the obtained scores, using Spanish normative data, and b) to identify the variables that cause these possible gender-related differences on HRQOL. METHODS: A cross-sectional multi-center study was carried out with 152 patients (69 men and 83 women) receiving HD treatment in 43 Spanish centers, using the KDQOL-SF to evaluate their HRQOL. The generic KDQOL-SF scores were standardized by age and gender using Spanish normative data. Sociodemographic, clinical and psychosocial variables were also collected on each patient. A MANOVA was carried out to study the variables associated with the gender-related differences on HRQOL. The sociodemographic, clinical and psychosocial variables showing significant differences between men and women in the previous univariate analysis were entered as covariates. RESULTS: The KDQOL-SF scores showed statistically significant differences between men and women in four scales: physical functioning, emotional role limitation, social function and emotional well-being. In contrast, standardized scores showed no differences between men and women in the profile or degree of HRQOL impairment. Although statistically significant gender-related differences were shown in educational level, employment, haemoglobin, Kt/V, trait anxiety and depressive symptoms, only the last two variables showed an independent effect on the differences in HRQOL. CONCLUSION: Impaired HRQOL in women on HD reflects the gender-related differences that are also shown in the general population, and they are related to the higher prevalence of trait anxiety and depressive symptoms in women. | | Language | spa | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article Multicenter Study
| | PubMed ID | 15219092 |
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