ORIGINAL: Impact of Anemia on The Quality of Life of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Single Institution Experience

West Afr J Med. November 2023; 40 (11): 1253-1261 PMID: 38099515

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and has been shown to worsen as CKD advances. CKD negatively impacts patients' health-related quality of life. It is therefore necessary to determine the impact of anemia on the quality of life in patients with CKD.

Objectives: We assessed the relationship between the severity of anemia and its impact on the quality of life of anemic CKD patients attending nephrology clinics.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study of one hundred and sixty-three subjects which included 102 CKD patients with anemia and sixty-one CKD subjects without anemia, was done between April 2016 and January 2017. Karnofsky's structured questionnaire was used for the quality of life, while the packed cell volume was used to determine the severity of anemia.

Results: The prevalence of anemia among CKD subjects was 102(62.6%), and it significantly worsens as CKD advances, which ranged from 42.3% in stage 3 to 93% in stage 5 (p < 0.001). The mean physical performance score was significantly lower among anemic CKD subjects than among controls, which was 73.17 ± 12.95 and 84.59 ± 11.04 respectively (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the mean physical performance score decreases significantly with the advancing CKD among both study groups.

Conclusion: This study showed that CKD patients with anemia had significant impairment in their physical ability than CKD patients without anemia.