Relationship Between Depression and Its Severity with Dialysis Adequacy in Hemodialysis Patients in Ahvaz Teaching Hospitals

Background: Depression is a prevalent psychological disorder among hemodialysis patients and is associated with a variety of adverse outcomes. Dialysis adequacy also affects hemodialysis patients' survival rates. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression in hemodialysis patients and its association with dialysis adequacy. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 205 individuals undergoing hemodialysis at Ahvaz teaching hospitals in 2019 were included. The depression level was determined using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) for the participants aged below 65 years and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) for the patients aged above 65 years. Dialysis adequacy measures, including the Kt/V and urea reduction rate (URR), were calculated using standard formulas. Results: In this study, 60.5% of the participants suffered from depression, and the overall prevalence of depression was 54.6% in individuals aged below 65 and 67% in those aged above 65 years. Among the patients with age below 65 years, 19 persons (17.6%) were suffering from mild depression, 22 individuals (20.4%) were suffering from moderate depression, and 18 individuals (16.7%) had severe depression. Among the patients aged above 65 years, moderate depression was found to affect 45 persons (46.4%), and 20 individuals (20.6%) had severe depression. The mean values of Kt/V and URR were not significantly correlated with depression scores (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Depression is a common disorder among hemodialysis patients in Iran; however, it is not significantly associated with dialysis adequacy. However, the results of studies on the relationship between depression and dialysis adequacy cannot be analyzed simply.