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Chronic haemodialysis and personality
M C Ventura1, R González, A Alarcón
1General Hospital Son Dureta, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Insights
Hemodialysis significantly impacts patient personality, initially increasing neuroticism and decreasing extraversion. Over time, neuroticism levels decrease as patients adapt to their chronic condition.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Nephrology
- Medical Psychology
Background:
- Chronic kidney disease necessitates long-term hemodialysis.
- Hemodialysis patients experience significant psychological stress.
- Personality changes in patients undergoing chronic treatment are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of time under hemodialysis treatment on patient personality.
- To compare personality traits between patients with different durations of hemodialysis.
- To assess personality differences between hemodialysis patients and a control group.
Main Methods:
- Employed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) to assess personality variables.
- Utilized a t-test for statistical analysis of personality differences.
- Compared a hemodialysis group (EXT, n=62) with a control group (CON, n=33).
- Subdivided the hemodialysis group into those under treatment for less than 4 years (EX1) and more than 4 years (EX2).
Main Results:
- Significant differences in neuroticism (N), extraversion (E), and lie/dissimulation (L) were found between experimental subgroups and between experimental and control groups.
- Hemodialysis patients (EXT) exhibited high neuroticism (mean=73.1), low extraversion (mean=41.8), and low lie/dissimulation (mean=29.9).
- Patients on hemodialysis for over 4 years (EX2) showed significant decreases in scores across all three personality dimensions (N, E, L) compared to those treated for less than 4 years (EX1).
Conclusions:
- Chronic illness and hemodialysis initially induce high neuroticism as a stress response.
- Over time, awareness of the chronic condition leads to a decrease in neuroticism.
- Increased introversion and a diminished use of denial (lie/dissimulation) become more prominent as coping mechanisms in long-term hemodialysis patients.
Unlabelled:
The object of this study was to detect the influence of time under treatment on haemodialysis on the personality. The samples are a group on haemodialysis (EXT, n = 62) and a control group (CON, n = 33). The haemodialysis patients were grouped by years under treatment (EX1 less than 4 years, and EX2 greater than 4 years). To study personality variables, the Eysenck Personality Inventory test was used. The results showed, using t test, significant differences on neuroticism (N), extraversion (E) and lie or dissimulation (L), between both experimental subgroups (N, p less than 0.01; E, p less than 0.05 and L, p less than 0.02) as well as between experimental and control groups (N, p less than 0.01; E, p less than 0.01 and L, p less than 0.001). On the experimental group (EXT) a high neuroticism (mean = 73.1) level was observed associated with a low level of extraversion (mean = 41.8) and lie or dissimulation (mean = 29.9). According to the observed results, the length of time on haemodialysis affects the groups in a different, significant way. In the EX2 it is observed that the scores decrease on the three personality dimensions, their differences being significant.
Conclusions:
This chronic illness places patients first on a very high level of neuroticism, as a confrontation to the stress provoked by their situation. Following this, due to the patients' awareness of their own chronic state, the level of neuroticism decreases, their high level of introversion and the absence of lie as a possible defense mechanism of denial facing their hard reality being more significant.