Sleeping Disorders and Health-Related Quality of Life in Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Renal Disease in Greece

Abstract

Introduction: Increased life expectancy in patients with end-stage renal failure undergoing dialysis and the high prevalence of the chronic renal disease highlight the need to investigate the patients’ quality of life. Aim: To investigate sleep disorders and the level of health-related quality of life in hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure. Material and Method: The sample of the study consisted of 420 hemodialysis patients. The Kidney Disease and Quality of Life™ Short Form questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life of patients, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to investigate sleep disorders. Results: The physical and mental health of the responders were found to be 36.9 and 39.6, respectively, while the burden and effects of chronic renal disease were found to be 40 and 44.9, respectively. There were strong positive correlations between the overall health assessment and the emotional well-being (r = 0.743), the physical function (r = 0.730), the burden of renal disease (0.626), the energy/fatigue (0.643), the social function (0.639), and the pain (0.595). The patients’ quality of sleep was found poor (7.62). The major correlation was observed between the total score and the dimension of the sleep latency (0.681), followed by the sleep disturbances (0.624). Conclusions: The HRQOL of hemodialysis patients with CKD-FS remains poor, interacting with important functions such as sleep, vitality, cognition, and sexual function.