Association between Chronic Kidney Disease and Depression

Abstract

Background: Depression is relatively prevalent in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Knowing the frequency of depression in these patients, the association with variables such as stage of disease, education, and income status may be helpful in devising strategies for better management. Methods: We examined 315 patients diagnosed with CKD presented in the outpatient and emergency department of medicine at Capital Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan. Depression was diagnosed according to the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale of depressive episode. Results: In the dialysis group, 83.8% were depression positive, while in the pre-dialysis group only 61.3% of patients were given the same diagnosis (P < 0.05). A significant association was moreover found between depression and education status (P < 0.05), but not for income status. Conclusions: Considering the high incidence of depression in CKD patients, screenings should be routinely performed in order to identify and treat depression in its early stages for these patients .