The quality of life on maintenance haemodialysis.

Eighteen haemodialysis patients were interviewed in order to rate their quality of life. The data revealed a striking change in the life of most patients compared with the period before illness. Most patients had severe loss in income and for many family life deteriorated. Emotional adaptation tended to be successful in those patients before their illness. Ratings of quality of life of "good" were given to only six patients, "fair" to five, and "poor" to seven. Women seem to enjoy a better adaptation to life maintained by haemodialysis than men.