American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation
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Multicenter Study
Quality of life in patients on chronic dialysis: self-assessment 3 months after the start of treatment. The Necosad Study Group.
The aim of the present multicenter study was to assess quality of life of Dutch dialysis patients 3 months after the start of chronic dialysis treatment. The quality of life was compared with the quality of life of a general population sample, and the impact of demographic, clinical, renal function, and dialysis characteristics on patients' quality of life was studied. New end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who were started on chronic hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis in 13 dialysis centers in The Netherlands were consecutively included. ⋯ Comorbid conditions, hemoglobin, and residual renal function could explain poor quality of life only to a limited extent. Further research exploring determinants and indices of quality of life in ESRD patients is warranted. From a clinical perspective, we may conclude that quality of life should be considered in the monitoring of dialysis patients.