Depression in Chronic Kidney Disease and Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract

Depression is the most common psychiatric condition in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), but there are few studies that analyzed this condition in patients in different phases of disease. This article aims to evaluated depression in CKD patients, comparing patients in different phases of disease. Methods: We evaluated 134 patients with CKD submitted to conservative ambulatory treatment, and 36 patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD). To evaluate depression, we used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Beck Depression Inventory—SF (BDI-SF), a subscale that allows evaluate only the cognitive aspects of depression. Functional capacity was evaluated using the Karnofsky Performance Scale, and clinical and sociodemographic variables were also investigated. Results: Using BDI, depression was identified in 37.3% of patients in conservative treatment and in 41.6% in HD patients (p > 0.05). This percentage reduced when the BDI-SF was used, to 11.1% in conservative CKD patients and 13.8% in HD patients (p > 0.05). Depression was associated with marital status, professional activity, income, comorbidities and functional capacity. Discussion: We observed high prevalence of depression in patients with CKD undergoing conservative or hemodialysis treatment. Depression was associated with some clinical and sociodemografic variables and with functional capacity.