Fatigue and its correlates in chronic hemodialysis patients

The present study aimed at evaluating the possible correlation between fatigue and demographic, clinical and laboratory variables in chronic HD patients.

Sixty-two chronic HD patients were assessed for the presence of fatigue through the SF-36 Vitality subscale and were administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the Mini-Mental State Examination. In all, the number/severity of comorbidities was assessed through the Charlson Comorbidity Index and laboratory parameters were measured.

Correlations among the SF-36 Vitality subscale and age, dialytic age, BDI, HARS and the Charlson Comorbidity Index were statistically significant. Correlations between the SF-36 vitality score and the serum creatinine, albumin and IL-6 levels were also significant. Twenty-six and 36 patients constituted the fatigued and nonfatigued groups, respectively. The age and the scores of the Charlson Comorbidity Index, BDI and HARS of fatigued patients were significantly higher than those of nonfatigued subjects. Serum IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the fatigued than in the nonfatigued group, whereas serum albumin and creatinine levels were significantly lower.

We found that depression, anxiety, number and severity of comorbidities and IL-6 levels are significantly correlated with fatigue in end-stage renal disease patients receiving chronic hemodialysis.