Burden of Kidney Disease, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Employment Among Patients Receiving Peritoneal Dialysis and In-Center Hemodialysis: Findings From the DOPPS Program.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Individuals faced with decisions regarding kidney replacement therapy options need information on how dialysis treatments might affect daily activities and quality of life, and what factors might influence the evolution over time of the impact of dialysis on daily activities and quality of life.

STUDY DESIGN

Observational cohort study.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 7,771 hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) participants from 6 countries participating in the Peritoneal and Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Studies (PDOPPS/DOPPS).

PREDICTORS

Patient-reported functional status (based on daily living activities), country, demographic and clinical characteristics, and comorbidities.

OUTCOME

Employment status and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) including Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL) instrument physical and mental component summary scores (PCS, MCS), kidney disease burden score, and depression symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [CES-D] score > 10).

ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Linear regression (PCS, MCS, kidney disease burden score), logistic regression (depression symptoms), adjusted for predictors plus 12 additional comorbidities.

RESULTS

In both dialysis modalities, patients in Japan had the highest PCS and employment (55% for HD and 68% for PD), whereas those in the United States had the highest MCS score, lowest kidney disease burden, and lowest employment (20% in HD and 42% in PD). After covariate adjustment, the association of age, sex, dialysis vintage, diabetes, and functional status with PROs was similar in both modalities, with women having lower PCS and kidney disease burden scores. Lower functional status (score <11) was strongly associated with lower PCS and MCS scores, a much greater burden of kidney disease, and greater likelihood of depression symptoms (CES-D, >10). The median change in KDQOL-based PROs was negligible over 1 year in participants who completed at least 2 annual questionnaires.

LIMITATIONS

Selection bias due to incomplete survey responses. Generalizability was limited to the dialysis populations of the included countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Variation exists in quality of life, burden of kidney disease, and depression across countries but did not appreciably change over time. Functional status remained one of the strongest predictors of all PROs. Routine assessment of functional status may provide valuable insights for patients and providers in anticipating outcomes and support needs for patients receiving either PD or HD.