Change in quality of life and one-year mortality risk in maintenance dialysis patients

Abstract

Clinicians should be aware that many patients experience a significant change in both the MCS and PCS on dialysis. A MCS decrease of ≥5 was associated with increased mortality. More study is needed to determine whether this is a causal relationship. Physicians should evaluate root causes and seek to mitigate declines in QOL whenever possible.

Health‐related quality of life of patients on chronic dialysis: The need for a focused effort

“…Specifically, the median changes in PCS and MCS scores were very low in the DOPPS study, and not clinically significant . In the study of Liebman, mean score for PCS was unchanged, whereas MCS increased slightly . In the HEMO study, there were no substantial variances in the PCS and MCS over 3 years …”

“…A few studies have evaluated the HRQOL over time in patients on chronic hemodialysis (Table ). The longitudinal observation ranged between 7 and 36 months and generally documented only minimal variations of the HRQOL . Specifically, the median changes in PCS and MCS scores were very low in the DOPPS study, and not clinically significant .…”

“…A crude comparison of SF‐36 scores in studies of a large dialysis organizations patients found that HRQOL was remarkably unchanged in the 2006 cohort compared to the 1996 one we can distinguish longitudinal studies, exploring the course of HRQOL over a short‐ of mid‐term period, and studies that have investigated the temporal trends in HRQOL over a decade …”

Treating symptoms to improve the quality of life in patients on chronic hemodialysis

“…In patients on chronic hemodialysis, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is generally poor and significantly lower than that of the general population [1,2]. Unfortunately, HRQOL of these patients has not improved significantly in the last two decades [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Studies of large dialysis organizations found that HRQOL was essentially unchanged in the 2006 cohort compared to the 1996 one [3][4][5].…”

“…Studies of large dialysis organizations found that HRQOL was essentially unchanged in the 2006 cohort compared to the 1996 one [3][4][5]. Accordingly, longitudinal studies have shown minimal variations of the HRQOL [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Specifically, the median changes in the physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary scores were very low in the DOPPS study, and not clinically significant [13].…”