The Impact of Gender and Marital Status on TherapeuticOutcomes of Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

Background and Aims: The hemodialysis regimen required to treat end stage renal disease (ESRD) can beextremely strict, requiring individuals to deal with multiple acute and chronic stressors. The aim of this studywas to assess relationships between compliance and therapeutic goals with marital status separately by sexin uremic patients receiving hemodialysis in Tehran province.Methods: In December 2005, an observational study was performed that included the whole HD population(2630 patients; 1505 males and 1125 females) from 56 different units in the province of Tehran, an areaencompassing 13.5 million inhabitants.Results: The mean age of patients in this study was 53.4±16.5 years. They were 1505 men (57.2%) and 1125women (42.8%). Regarding marital status, it was shown that 1855 (72.5%) were married, 59 (2.3%) weredivorced and 329 (12.9%) were widowed. A relationship between marital status and sex was found (80.2% ofmales were married versus 62.1% of females) (P=0.001). Mean hemoglobin level was not significantly differentin two sexes (P=0.15) but was different significantly between married and singles (P=0.002). Even if therewas no significant difference in achieving the numbers of K/DOQI guideline targets among different sex andmarital status, the control was better in those with family support (P 0.05). The numbers of dialysis sessionsand vaccination or preference for transplantation did not differ among the groups. As the marital status has agreat impact on therapeutic goals achievements and that 38% of females versus 19.8% of males are singlethey may need more supervision. Higher rate of illiteracy mandates educational facilities to be appropriate totheir capabilities.Conclusions: The bottom line is that although patients with less support can get dialysis in adequate dose,they need more concentration regarding calcium and phosphorus metabolism and anemia management.