Associations of Socio-demographic, Clinical, and Biochemical Parameters with Quality of Life Among Hemodialysis Patients in Morocco

Background: Nearly 850 million people suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide, indicating its importance as a public health problem. Several studies have confirmed that quality of life is strongly associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality in CKD patients, and hemodialysis patients have a lower level of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to the general population. Objectives: This study tries to investigate HRQoL and kidney disease quality of life (KDQoL) and explore their associated factors among hemodialysis patients in the Souss Massa region in Morocco. Methods: Four hundred and forty-one hemodialysis patients were included in this cross-sectional study. The participants were at or above 18 years old, received at or above three months of hemodialysis, did not have serious changes in their lifestyle, and signed the consent form. Clients who were unable to respond or did not sign the consent form were excluded. Sociodemographic, clinical, and biological parameters were collected, and quality of life (QoL) (using KDQOL-SF-v1.3) was assessed. Through univariate and multivariate analysis, factors associated with HRQoL and kidney function could be determined. Results: The prevalence of poor QoL among hemodialysis patients in HRQoL and KDQoL was 29.5% and 21.3%, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, the poor HRQoL was significantly associated with anemia (CI: 1.02 - 2.79; P = 0.037), frequency of dialysis sessions per week (CI: 1.04 - 4.66; P = 0.030), and poor KDQoL was associated with age (CI: 0.24 - 0.79; P = 0.006), occupational status (CI: 1.48 - 8.53; P = 0.028), and support for medical costs (CI: 0.13 - 0.73; P = 0.007). Conclusions: According to the results, hemodialysis patients have poor QoL. Factors with a significant association were age, anemia, occupational status, number of dialysis sessions, and medical coverage. Future directions for these patients should try to treat anemic patients, intensify dialysis sessions, and reduce or guarantee free medical costs.