Objective
Maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients have a high prevalence of
anxiety and depression and decreased daily physical activity (DPA) and
exercise capacity. Since affective disorders may affect DPA and physical
performance, we investigated possible relationships between anxiety or
depression and DPA and physical performance in relatively healthy MHD
patients
Design
Cross-sectional cohort study
Setting
UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Subjects
72 relatively healthy MHD patients and 39 normal adults
Intervention
DPA was measured for seven days with an Actigraph Activity
Monitor®. Physical performance was assessed using 6-minute walk
(6-MWT), sit-to-stand (STS) and stair climbing tests. Subjects completed the
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hospital
Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
Main Outcome Measure
Physical activity counts (expressed as vector magnitude), performance
in 6-MWT, STS, and stair-climbing tests, and BAI, BDI and HADS scores
Results
Anxiety and depression by BAI and BDI were identified in 43%
and 33% of MHD patients and 2.5% and 5% of normals
(p< 0.0001 for each comparison). MHD patients without anxiety or
depression had decreased DPA and physical performance compared to normals,
indicating that MHD patients have reduced DPA and physical performance
independent of anxiety or depression. MHD patients with both anxiety and
depression generally had the most impaired DPA and physical performance.
Higher BAI and BDI scores were each associated with impaired physical
performance. In fully-adjusted analyses, the average DPA in MHD patients was
negatively correlated with the BDI(r = −0.33, p=0.01) but not with
the BAI. DPA on the day of hemodialysis (p=0.01), day after dialysis
(p=0.03), and day two after dialysis (p=0.03) each correlated negatively
with degree of depression by BDI. MHD patients displayed negative
correlations between BAI and 6-MWT (p=0.03) and between BAI and STS
(p=0.04)
Conclusions
In relatively healthy adult MHD patients, anxiety and depression are
common and are associated with impaired physical performance. There was a
trend towards stronger negative associations between BDI scores and DPA than
between BAI scores and DPA.