Sohail Tanvir, Ghias-ud-din Butt, Rizwan Taj.
Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients on Haemodialysis.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;9(2):64-7.

Objective: To find the prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients on maintenance haemodialysis Study Design: Cross Sectional Survey. Place and Duration: The study was undertaken by department of nephrology (Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences) PIMS, Islamabad from July 2009 to December 2009. Materials and Methods: The study was performed at department of Nephrology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, where we have a 24/7 functional haemodialysis unit providing dialysis for patients from Islamabad and its surrounding areas. All patients admitted at Nephrology ward admitted during the time period of the study (6 months), who were ESRD and were put on maintenance haemodialysis, were included. The patients were asked to fill the questionnaire of HADS after getting informed consent. Results: A total of 135 out of 296 patients gave consent for the study, out of 105 (77.7%) were males and 30 (22.2%) were females. 29 (21%) of the total patients were uneducated and 17 (12.59%) had previous psychiatric history. 89 (65.9%) out of 135 patients fulfilled the criteria of anxiety and depression. In our study, using the HADS, it was elicited that 57.30% (51/89) of our ESRD patients had depression out of which 39.2% (20/51) of our maintenance dialysis patients were having mild depression (HADS 5-9), 24.49% (13/51) had moderate depression (HADS 10-14) and 13.72% (7/51) had severe depression (HADS >15) and 42.69% (38/89)had anxiety disorder out of which 47.36% (18/38) had mild anxiety (HADS 5-9), 28.94% (11/38) had moderate anxiety (HADS 9-14) and 23.68% (9/38) had severe anxiety (HADS >15). Conclusion: Anxiety and depression are two most prevalent entities among the haemodialysis population. They are more prevalent in male, uneducated married patients belonging to lower socioeconomic class. It is important that all the patients ending up on lifelong maintenance haemodialysis should be routinely screened for signs of psychiatric illnesses like anxiety and depression.

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