Quality of Life Outcomes in a Hemodialysis Cohort: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Endstage kidney disease (ESKD) and the maintenance hemodialysis (HD) it requires impose physical, psychological, and social costs that reduce health-related quality of life (HRQoL) . Identifying the determinants of HRQoL in this group informs patient- centred care. Objective: To measure HRQoL and to determine which sociodemographic and clinical variables are associated with reduced quality of life in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis Methods: Two hundred sixty one patients on maintenance hemodialysis at a tertiary care centre were enrolled between January and December 2025. HRQoL was measured with the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form (KDQOL-SF™ version 1.3). Sociodemographic variables , clinical characteristics and laboratory values were obtained from medical records and patient interviews. Analysis comprised descriptive statistics, independent t- tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression. Results: Mean age was 56.4 ± 14.2 years and 152 participants (58.2%) were male. The mean overall KDQOL-SF score was 52.37 ± 11.84. The kidney disease component summary (KDCS) was 48.92 ± 10.56, the physical component summary (PCS) 41.28 ± 8.94 and the mental component summary (MCS) 46.75 ± 11.23. The lowest-scoring domain was Burden of Kidney Disease (38.56 ± 12.47). Regression analysis identified older age (β = -0.28, p < 0.001), longer dialysis vintage (β = -0.19, p = 0.008), lower hemoglobin (β = 0.22, p = 0.002), diabetes mellitus (β = -0.21, p = 0.003), unemployment (β = -0.24, p < 0.001) and lower educational attainment (β = 0.18, p = 0.011) as independent predictors of reduced HRQoL. Conclusion: HRQoL was reduced across domains in this cohort, and disease burden was the most affected domain. Anemia correction, employment support, and patient education are modifiable and are therefore candidate targets for intervention.