Personality profiles and depression in haemodialysis patients

Chronic haemodyalisis is an established treatment of end stage renal disease which maintains the lives of individuals who otherwise would have succumbed to a uraemic death. However, this method of treatment raises certain psychological, social and ethical issues, where depression and stress are the most common. This article is concerned with the evaluation of depression and the psychological characteristics of patients treated by chronic maintenance haemodyalisis. Using two psychometric tests (Beck Depression Inventory and MMPI-201) we obtained a significant incidence of depression (90.63%) in patients recruited from two centres for dia-lysis in Skopje, where even the severe form was unrecognized and untreated. The psychological profiles confirmed hypersensitivity, depressive mood, frequent interpersonal problems, and withdrawal from friends and relatives. Latent aggressiveness could be destructive for their social communications. In order to overcome the depression some response measures such as relaxation training, psychological support, music therapy or peripheral biofeedback are recommended.