ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Depression is common in chronic renal failure patients and usually associated with poor appetite. Malnutrition with poor appetite is known to be associated with increased mortality in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients. So we evaluated the prevalence, risk factors of depression and effects of depression to nutritional status in chronic HD patients. METHODS: Sixty two HD patients (age 48.8+/-11.1 years, diabetes 29%) were investigated. Each patients were interviewed and completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI, 21 items, 0-3 point). To exclude the possible confounding effects of illness and treatment symptoms, cognitive depression index (CDI, a cognitive subset of 15 items selected from BDI) was used as a measure of depression. KT/V and nutritional parameters such as serum albumin, normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR), subjective global assesment (SGA), body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) and midarm muscle circumference (MAMC) were also measured. RESULTS: Corrected BDI score (CDI score multiplied by 21/15) was 24.9+/-12.7 and the prevalence of depression (corrected BDI score > or = 21) was 64.5%. DM patients had higher CDI score than non DM patient (22.9+/-7.2 vs 15.6+/-9.0). In univariate analysis, CDI score was correlated with age (r=0.39, p<0.01), serum albumin (r=-0.37, p<0.005), nPCR (r=-0.30, p<0.05), SGA (r=-0.42, p<0.05), BMI (r=-0.28, p<0.05), TSF (r=-0.41, p<0.05) and MAMC (r=-0.50, p<0.01). In multivariate analysis, CDI score was the strongest correlate of nPCR, SGA, BMI, TSF and MAMC. But KT/V, hematocrit, erythropoietin usage, plasma bicarbonate, serum parathyroid hormone, c-reactive protein concentration and HD duration had no relationship with CDI score. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of depression in chronic HD patients was high. Diabetes and old agewere important risk factors for depression. It was also concluded that severity of depression was correlated with markers of malnutrition and depression could be a independent risk factor of malnutrition in chronic HD patients.