Objective: To assess the quality of life related to the health of chronic renal failure patients on dialysis. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 101 chronic renal failure patients who had been under dialysis treatment for three months. The instruments used for research were: Instrument of Characterization of Subjects and the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-Short Form. A descriptive analysis was performed and the standard deviation was found; Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the reliability of alpha values equal to or greater than 0.60.

Objective: To identify sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with health-related quality of life of patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis. Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study conducted with 101 patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis. An instrument for subject characteristics, and the Kidney Disease and Quality of Life -Short Form were used. For multivariate analysis, logistic regression with Stepwise selection criteria variables was used. Results: The sociodemographic and clinical factors found to be associated with a better health-related quality of life were: male gender, younger age, black skin color, having a partner, higher education, practicing a religion, high serum levels of albumin and hematocrit. Conclusion: These factors are important for the improvement of care in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on hemodialysis. ResumoObjetivo: Identificar fatores sociodemográficos e clínicos associados à qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde de pacientes renais crônicos em hemodiálise. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, de corte transversal, com abordagem quantitativa realizado com 101 pacientes renais crônicos em hemodiálise. Aplicou-se o instrumento de caracterização dos sujeitos e o Kidney Disease and Quality of Life -Short Form. Foi realizada regressão logística para análise multivariada, com critério Stepwise de seleção de variáveis. Resultados: Os fatores sociodemográficos e clínicos associados à melhor QVRS encontrados foram: sexo masculino, menor idade, etnia negra, parceiro fixo, maior escolaridade, praticante de religião, altos níveis séricos de albumina e de hematócrito. Conclusão: Estes fatores são importantes para a melhoria da assistência a pacientes renais crônicos em hemodiálise.

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o nível de atividade física (NAF) de pacientes com doença renal crônica (DRC) em hemodiálise (HD) e correlacionar estes níveis à qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde (QVRS). Trata-se de um estudo correlacional, transversal, e com abordagem quantitativa. Participaram da pesquisa 84 pacientes com diagnóstico de DRC. Utilizou-se o questionário internacional de atividade física para identificar o NAF e o questionário genérico de qualidade de vida (SF-36) para avaliar a QVRS. Foram realizadas análises estatísticas descritivas. Utilizou-se o teste Kolmogorov-Smirnov e verificou-se ausência de normalidade nos dados. O teste U de Mann Whitney foi utilizado para a comparação da QVRS entre grupos (ativos e insuficientemente ativos), bem como o coeficiente de correlação de Spearman para correlacionar o NAF e a QVRS. O nível de significância adotado foi de 5%. Na comparação de grupos, verificou-se que os pacientes ativos apresentaram melhor percepção de QVRS se comparados aos insuficientemente ativos. Ainda, a partir do coeficiente de correlação de Spearman, observou-se que o NAF está correlacionado com a QVRS, com estatísticas significantes em diversas dimensões do SF-36. Sendo assim, sugere-se que a prática regular de atividade física (AF) pode contribuir para uma melhor percepção de QVRS de pacientes em HD.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are frequent in Alzheimer's disease and negatively affect patient quality of life. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of cognitive stimulation on neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease. Methods: The included articles were reviewed between December 2015 and June 2016, and the inclusion criteria were: (1) studies involving older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; (2) studies published in English, Spanish or Portuguese; (3) studies that determined the effect of cognitive stimulation on neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease; (4) controlled trials. Results: Out of the total 722, 9 articles matched the inclusion criteria. Depression, apathy and anxiety were the most frequent symptoms. Conclusion: Studies reported significant results post-treatment, suggesting cognitive stimulation can be effective for these neuropsychiatric symptoms, thus improving the quality of life of Alzheimer's disease patients and their caregivers.

Hemodialysis (HD) is a common treatment for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Objective: the objective of the present study was twofold. First, to assess the level of physical activity and cognitive function in hemodialysis (HD) patients and, second, to compare cognitive function of active and insufficiently active HD patients. Methods: the sample consisted of 84 HD patients. Data collection took place in two different Renal Replacement Therapy Units (RRTU) in Brazil. A sociodemographic and clinical structured interview, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R) were used for data collection. The Mann Whitney U-test was used to compare cognitive function between groups. The significance level adopted was p≤.05. Results: the majority of the patients were insufficiently active. The total average score on the cognitive test was lower than recommended and physically active HD patients had a significant score in the fluency domain. Conclusion: we found that HD patients are at greater risk of developing cognitive deficits. Physical activity was shown to be a potential non-pharmacological, low-cost therapeutic alternative for improving cognitive abilities in HD patients. The present study can help health professionals to encourage HD patients to engage in regular physical activity and contributes to the development of specific protocols for these patients.