Surveillance of quality of life in end-stage renal disease patients Quality of life report - REIN

A survey of quality of life has been performed on a representative sample of 832 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients treated by dialysis, using the SF36 and KDQoL instruments. It allowed to evidence that the patients' quality of life is highly deteriorated, particularly concerning the physical and the burden of disease dimensions. The pain dimension is also highly altered and surely represents an underestimated aspect of the ESRD impact on patients' everyday life. More than 3 patients on 4 have at least a quality of life score below the reference values in general population (deviation from the average higher than two standard deviations). Besides socio demographic factors classically identified (sex, age, socio-cultural status...) quality of life was influenced by the presence of comorbidities, notably cardiovascular diseases, by the quality of the nutritional status as estimated with albuminemia and by the type of dialysis (higher quality of life among peritoneal dialysis patients). Taking into account all these factors, there remain considerable differences between regions. Quality of life improvement actions are proposed, likely to be implemented within the 'quality of life and chronic diseases' public health plan.