Abstract:
Objective: To determine the association of depression with socio-demographic factors in patients undergoing
hemodialysis.
Study Design: Cross sectional comparative study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicine, Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from Jul 2014 to Jun 2015.
Material and Methods: Eighty eight patients undergoing hemodialysis were included. Data were collected using
the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Demographic data, including age, gender, status within the family,
education, duration of dialysis and social support was documented. Patients were graded on the basis of
Hamilton scoring as: 0-9: normal, 10-13: mild depression, 14-17: moderate depression, above 17: severe
depression.
Results: There were 61(69.3%) male and 27 (30.7%) female patients with mean age of 48.43 ± 12.69 years. The
mean duration of dialysis was 35 ± 29.73 days. Sixty seven patients (76.1%) were identified as having depression.
Out of these 28 (31.8%) had mild depression while 12 (13.6%) had moderate and 27 (30.7%) had severe
depression. Mean depression score was higher in females (17.56 ± 6.67) than in males (13.13 ± 5.67) and the
difference was significant (p=0.002). No association of depression with age (p=0.75), duration of dialysis (p=0.07),
marital status (p=0.500), status within the family (p=0.47) or education (p=0.59) was revealed, however it was
strongly and positively correlated with social support (p<0.005).
Conclusions: A reasonably high percentage of patients undergoing hemodialysis is likely to suffer from
depression and by providing social support their depression can be reduced. Female patients are more likely to
have depression and need more social support for alleviation of their depression.
