Functional bowel disorders and associated risk factors in hemodialysis patients in Turkey

Functional bowel disorders (FBDs) impair the quality of life in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of the subtypes of FBDs in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

This prospective, cross-sectional study included 80 patients who received HD for more than 3 months (patient group) and 80 healthy controls (control group). FBDs were diagnosed according to the Rome II diagnostic criteria by excluding organic pathologies.

Forty-six (57.5%) patients were males, and their average age was 62.13±12.92 (23-90) years. The mean duration of dialysis was 57.48±59.23 (3-312) months, and the mean Kt/V (K: dialyzer clearance of urea, t: dialysis time, V: volume of distrubition of urea) value was 1.53±0.31. The rate of FBDs was significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (p=0.01). In total, 7.5% of the patients had irritable bowel syndrome, 3.8% had functional bloating, and 16.3% had functional constipation. FBDs were significantly higher in women (p=0.004). While there was no statistically significant difference between patients with and those without FBDs in terms of the presence of additional diseases, smoking, alcohol use, educational level, marital status, and resi- dential areas (p>0.05), serum phosphorus (P) levels were significantly higher in the patients with FBDs (p=0.03).

FBDs and their functional constipation subtype are more common in HD patients than in the healthy population in Turkey. FBDs are most frequently observed in females and housewives with high serum P levels.