Psychiatric diagnoses in patients with renal transplantation or dialysis made due to end stage renal disease

Objective: End stage renal disease (ESRD) is a growing public health problem. Many studies reported that psychiatric morbidities and disability of patients with ESRD are high and that transplantation is more psychologically advantageous than dialysis. We aimed to determine the risk factors affecting the psychiatric diagnosis of the patients who underwent renal transplantation and dialysis due to ESRD in our study. Methods: Forty-eight trans-plant recipients and 42 patients on maintenance receiving dialysis who have been followed up by Nephrology Unit of Ataturk University Medical Faculty and 43 healthy volunteers were included in the study. All subjects were assessed with Sociodemographic-Clinical Data Form, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI I-II), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scales (HADS) and the validated Turkish versions of Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID-I). Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the three groups in terms of age, gender, educational status, marital status and income status. In dialysis patients, the absence of active work experi-ence was higher than the other two groups. When the averages of the scale scores of the groups were compared, it was seen that the STAI-II, HAD anxiety averages were higher in the dialysis group than the other two groups. For transplant and dialysis groups it was detected that there was a positive correlation between KBY duration and STAI I-II, and dialysis duration and HADS scores. When the distribution of psychiatric disorders was examined in the groups according to SCID, the rate of depressive disorder in dialysis group was higher than in both groups. Discus-sion: In this study, it was found that depression was common in patients undergoing dialysis, and transplant patients had similar depression rates with the controls. It should be given priority to the diagnosis and treatment of depres- sion as a risk factor that may affect the long-term general medical conditions of the patients with dialysis or kidney transplantation in addition to the biological evaluation.