Comprehensive symptom assessment should happen early with chronic kidney disease

Symptoms are related to health-related quality of life (QoL) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online June 23 in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Harith Eranga Yapa, Ph.D., from the School of Nursing at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues tested whether the revised Wilson and Cleary model could identify which factors contribute to health-related QoL in CKD. The analysis included 866 individuals with CKD who completed validated interviewer-administered questionnaires.

The researchers found that biological function (decreased kidney function and hemoglobin and greater number of comorbidities) directly contributed to increased symptom burden. There was a strong negative relationship observed between symptoms and both general health perceptions and health-related QoL, while general health perceptions had a direct positive relationship with health-related QoL. There were decreases in health-related QoL with increasing age. Half of the deterioration in health-related QoL was explained by the model.

"Regular assessments could help nurses to track people who need increased attention, so that prompt and timely interventions, such as education, pharmacological, and nonpharmacological strategies, could be implemented to relieve symptom burden," the authors write. "Additionally, identification of those with lower (or at risk for lower) health-related QoL could be referred to support services (e.g., social services) in a timely way."

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