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Prevalence of symptoms of depression among patients with chronic kidney disease
1Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Lagos. toyinamira@yahoo.com
Insights
Depression is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, affecting 23.7% of those studied. Dialysis patients showed higher depression rates, indicating treatment modality as a key predictor.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Psychiatry
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Depression is a frequent comorbidity in chronic kidney disease (CKD).
- Depressive symptoms impact mortality in end-stage renal disease.
- Understanding depression prevalence in CKD is crucial for patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
- To identify potential predictors of depression in the CKD population.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 118 CKD patients (Stages 3-5) and 50 controls.
- Demographic and clinical data were collected.
- The Zung depression questionnaire was used to assess depressive symptoms.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of depression was 23.7% in CKD patients versus 2% in controls (P < 0.001).
- CKD patients on dialysis had a higher depression rate (34.5%) compared to pre-dialysis patients (13.3%) (P = 0.01).
- No significant difference in depression scores was observed between genders.
Conclusions:
- Depression is highly prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease.
- Treatment modality, specifically dialysis, is a major predictor of depression in CKD patients.
Objective:
Depression is the most common psychiatric illness in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Depression has been shown to affect mortality in end-stage renal disease patients. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence of depressive symptoms among CKD patients.
Materials And Methods:
A cross-sectional study of patients with CKD (Stages 3-5) attending the renal clinic of a tertiary hospital was conducted. Demographic and clinical data were documented. A self-administered Zung depression questionnaire was administered. The Zung depression questionnaire has 20 weighted questions. Individuals with a total score of 50 are considered to be depressed, while a score of 70 and above is indicative of severe depression.
Results:
One hundred and eighteen patients and fifty controls were interviewed. There were 73 (61.9%) males and 45 (38.1%) female patients. The mean age did not differ: males 43.8 ± 15.4 years, females 43.2 ± 14.7 yrs, P = 0.83. The prevalence of depression among the CKD patients was 23.7%, while for the control group was 2%; χ2 = 10.14, P < 0.001. Further analysis showed that CKD patients on dialysis were more likely to be depressed than the pre-dialysis patients with frequency of depressive symptoms of 34.5% for dialysis patients versus 13.3% in pre-dialysis patients; χ2 = 6.17, P = 0.01. No difference was observed in the mean Zung score among males, and female patients mean Zung score was 40.1 in females and 40.7 in male patients; P > 0.05.
Conclusion:
Depression is highly prevalent among our patients with CKD and treatment modality was the major predictor of depression among our patients.
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