Illness perception and depression in patients with end-stage renal disease on chronic haemodialysis

Abstract

Chronic disease states are known to cause psychological dysfunctions. This aspect is not well studied in patients with end stage renal disease on chronic renal replacement therapy. The aims of this study were to determine, the level of depression and to evaluate whether illness perception is related to depression among End-stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients on chronic Haemodialysis (HD). A total of 183 HD patients completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) and Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) to measure the level of depression. Results showed that 8% of the patients had major depression. Eight components of illness perception which included identity, cyclical, consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, emotional response and causes were significantly correlated with depression. Five predictors contributed to the variance in depression and emotional response was identified as one of the major predictors of depression in patients with ESRD. Hence, this study demonstrated important relationships between illness representations and depression in ESRD patients treated by HD. © Medwell Journals, 2011.