title: Quality of life and rehabilitation differences among four end-stage renal disease therapy groups.
abstract: This study investigates the quality of life of patients on alternative therapies for end-stage renal disease. The quality of life of 766 patients who experienced one of the following therapies for at least one year are compared: a successful transplant performed in the 1970's (N = 82), a successful transplant performed in 1980-1984 (N = 91), in-center hemodialysis (N = 83, 8 centers), and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialyses (CAPD) (N = 510, 185 centers). All patients were aged 19-56 and nondiabetic. Survey questionnaires were administered containing measures of physical, emotional and social well-being, vocational rehabilitation, and sexual adjustment. Case-mix differences were controlled, insofar as possible, with an Analysis of Covariance; adjusted means were compared. Findings indicate that the quality of life for successful transplant patients exceeds that of both dialysis groups for almost all variables (p less than 0.05 for 9/11 measures). This advantage persists when transplant patients are compared to dialysis patients who have experienced no prior, failed therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Abress
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010531:Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000523:psychology