[The social environment of patients on peritoneal dialysis]

Patients suffering chronic illnesses, such as those on replacement therapy, condition and are conditioned by their family, work, and social environment. A continuous psychophysical impairment occurs and alters the hormonal stress mediators from the central nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Such stress situation causes a pathological effect additional to the factors inherent to the disease. Psychological disorders (depression, anxiety, and others) are associated to an increased morbidity, directly acting upon treatment course, subsequent treatment failure, and personal perception of one's own state of health. Individual factors (sex, lifestyles, health and dietary habits, spirituality, financial and family situation, personal skills for coping with disease, cultural level, and social status) condition morbidity in these patients, and the course and complications of peritoneal dialysis. Interactions between healthcare staff and patients on peritoneal dialysis cause these patients to have a more active attitude and a greater involvement in their treatment, which has an impact on the course of disease and clinical status.