[Comparisons of quality of life measures between women and men on hemodialysis]

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Gildete Barreto Lopes1, Maria Tereza Silveira Martins, Cácia Mendes Matos

  • 1Coordenação central Núcleo de Epidemiologia Clínica, Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos Salvador, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA.

Revista Da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992)
|December 25, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Women undergoing chronic hemodialysis report lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores than men. These differences persist across age groups and are not influenced by comorbidities, highlighting a significant gender disparity in HRQOL among dialysis patients.

Area of Science:

  • Nephrology
  • Public Health
  • Quality of Life Research

Background:

  • Chronic hemodialysis is a life-sustaining treatment for end-stage renal disease.
  • Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a crucial outcome measure in patients with chronic conditions.
  • Gender-based differences in HRQOL among hemodialysis patients are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare HRQOL scores between men and women on chronic hemodialysis.
  • To investigate the impact of age and comorbidities on these gender-based HRQOL differences.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of baseline data from the PROHEMO Study, including 254 women and 349 men.
  • Utilized the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form (KDQOL-SF) to assess physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS), and renal symptom/problem scores.
  • Employed multiple linear regression to adjust for covariates including age, dialysis duration, and comorbidities.

Main Results:

  • Women reported significantly lower scores across all generic HRQOL scales compared to men.
  • Specifically, women had lower PCS (difference=2.4), MCS (difference=3), and symptom/problem scores (difference=6.6).
  • These disparities were consistent regardless of comorbidities and were more pronounced in individuals over 49 years of age.

Conclusions:

  • Women on chronic hemodialysis consistently exhibit lower HRQOL scores than men.
  • These gender-based differences in HRQOL are evident across various age groups and are independent of the presence of comorbidities.
  • The findings underscore a significant gender gap in the perceived quality of life for individuals undergoing long-term hemodialysis.
Abstract

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