Chronic kidney disease (CKD) permanently impairs kidney function, leading to a significant decline in health. Notably, two percent of CKD patients progress to terminal kidney failure [2]. The essential treatment for end-stage chronic renal disease (ESRD) is replacement therapy, which includes hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation [3, 4]. Kidney transplantation provides better quality of life than other treatment methods [5]. Factors such as financial costs [6], organizational barriers [7], surgical risks [8], and other reasons [9, 10] limit patient access to donor kidneys, therefore limiting this treatment modality to many patients. Continuous renal replacement therapy is the most common treatment available for chronic renal failure [11]. It is primarily a blood purification procedure and can replace the main renal functions, but it has some side effects, especially hemodialysis (HM) versus peritoneal dialysis (PD) [12], which may considerably worsen the patient’s quality of life. It can have psychological impacts on patients; frequent dialysis center visits, the procedure itself, treatment dependence, and interactions with other patients contribute to increased anxiety, fear of life, and potential mental health disorders [13, 14]. Other symptoms after HM may affect patients (hypertension, pain, nausea, anorexia, shortness of breath, insomnia) [15, 16].
A key goal of renal replacement therapy is to restore and enhance physical well-being and psychological balance in ESRD patients. To prevent complications during dialysis, various guidelines offer a range of options, including pain management [17, 18], cardiovascular complication prophylaxis [19], and other pathologies linked with HM [20].
The psychosocial impacts of HM [21] must also be addressed as a significant factor in rehabilitation. Improving physical activity is an efficacious way to improve mental health in patients with ESRD. An interview study of patients with ESRD during COVID-19 quarantine in the UK revealed the impact of prescribing home exercise on quality of life. This analysis showed that daily exercise during dialysis significantly improved the patient’s mood and mental state [22]. In addition, some authors [23, 24] have indicated the effectiveness of sports exercises in improving daily physical health in patients with ESRD. However, exercise between dialysis periods does not improve patient well-being, as summarized by a randomized clinical trial involving five hemodialysis centers [25]. Psychosocial support also helps to understand the possible posthaemodialysis outcomes for patients, leading to a decrease in anxiety and depression levels [26, 27]. One study revealed that [28] resistance training significantly improved the mood of patients with ESRD, and these patients became motivated to find work and improve their personal lives. Some hemodialysis centers have introduced psychosocial care rooms and psychologists’ navigation during treatment [29].
Despite all the proposed methods of patient rehabilitation for patients with ESRD, quality of life after dialysis remains one of the lowest among other nosology. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) can significantly decrease the workability and quality of life of patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD), and a decrease in daily physical activity, which is typical for patients on hemodialysis, reduces their performance and endurance [30]. Existing efforts to improve the quality of life of hemodialysis patients have focused on specialized rehabilitation programs, counselling, staff training, and optimization. However, the impact of work status during dialysis remains unexplored, particularly given the high prevalence of disabled people receiving hemodialysis in Kazakhstan. Light physical or mental work at a partial load may be feasible for some ESRD patients in their first year of hemodialysis. Work, a source of social interaction and physical activity, can be a rehabilitation tool for chronic illness patients, such as those with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), potentially improving their quality of life [31]. Therefore, this study compared the quality of life between working and nonworking ESRD patients in their first year of hemodialysis. Given their vulnerability, exploring the applicability of different rehabilitation approaches during treatment is crucial.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of life of working and nonworking patients with ESRD in the first year of hemodialysis.
Hypotheses
Working patients with end-stage renal disease in the first year of HD have better physical and mental health than nonworking patients with ESRD.