Die psychische Situation des Dialysepatienten

Subtitle: Psychological problems of end stage renal disease patients

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Balck, Friedrich

Affiliations: Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie, Universitätsklinikum Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307 Dresden. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Dialysis in chronic renal failure ensures survival but simultaneously leads to reduced quality of life and to a series of psychological problems such as anxieties and depressions. In clinical practice the occurrence of depression is often underappreciated. A consequence of the additional depressive disorder may be the reduction of lifetime. An investigation in Dresden of 127 patients showed that life satisfaction is reduced and 28.6% reported noticeable psychological problems. 24% of the patients had anxieties and 22.4% had relevant depressive symptoms. Duration of dialysis had no influence on the level of these mental disorders. As a consequence of these results psychodiagnostic possibilities for the assessment of psychological health should be improved in clinical practice and models for improvement of psychological health should be tested.

Keywords: Psychonephrology, kidney failure, end stage renal disease (ESRD), depression, psychological problems, quality of life

Journal: Zeitschrift für Medizinische Psychologie, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 5-8, 2008