Depression as a potential explanation for gender differences in health-related quality of life among patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

The reasons for lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores in women compared to men on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) are unknown. We investigated whether depression accounts for gender differences in HRQOL.Cross-sectional study of 868 (40.9% women) Brazilian MHD patients (PROHEMO Study). We used the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form to assess HRQOL and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale (scores from 0-60) to assess depression with scores >or=18 indicating high depression probability.Higher depression scores were associated with lower HRQOL in both sexes. Women had higher depression scores; 51.8% of women versus 38.2% of men (p < 0.001) had CES-D scores >or=18. Women scored lower on all 9 assessed HRQOL scales. The female-to-male differences in HRQOL were slightly reduced with inclusion of Kt/V and comorbidities in regression models. Substantial additional reductions in female-to-male differences in all HRQOL scales were observed after including depression scores in the models, by 50.9% for symptoms/problems related to renal failure, by 71.6% for mental health and by 87.1% for energy/vitality.Lower HRQOL among women was largely explained by depression symptoms. Results support greater emphasis on treating depression to improve HRQOL in MHD patients, particularly women.

Duke Scholars

Author Sherman A. James Sanford School of Public Policy