Posttraumatic stress disorder in hemodialysis patients

We aimed to assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients who receive maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and to investigate its correlation with depression, anxiety, health-related quality of life, and service utilization.

Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R), Posttraumatic Stress Scale (PDS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Short-Form Health Survey (SF–12) were used.

In a cross-sectional study, we recruited 144 HD patients (age 63.1±14.2 years, 50.7% male) from five dialysis units. 77.8% of the HD patients reported at least one traumatic event. The lifetime prevalence for PTSD, independent from the trauma type, was 17%. The PTSD prevalence only with regard to HD as a potential traumatic event was 10.4%. Women reported more helplessness and more intensive experiences of fear or horror than men with respect to stressor A criterion. PTSD patients showed substantial reductions in mental health in comparison to no PTSD patients (p<0.01). Additionally, higher depression, anxiety, lower life satisfaction, and more service utilization were associated with higher posttraumatic symptoms.

PTSD is common in HD patients, but little work has been done to explore the variables associated with PTSD. The data suggest that PTSD is underdiagnosed and undertreated among HD patients. Interventions should target these patients with the goal to improve well-being and quality of life.

PTSD - depression - hemodialysis - quality of life - trauma