Health related quality of life among end stage renal disease patients from low income country, Nepal: a cross sectional study using WHOQOL-BREF

Abstract Background Little is known about the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among end stage renal diseases (ESRD) patients in Nepal. This study examined the health-related quality of life of among the dialysis and transplant patients in Nepal. Methods Nepali Version of WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was administered using face to face interviews among ESRD patients, from two large national referral centers in Nepal. The differences in socio-demographic characteristics among ESRD patients were examined using Chi-square test. The group differences in QOL were examined using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-wallis tests. Results Of the 161 participants, 92 (57.1%) were transplant patients and 62 (42.9%) were dialysis patients. Hypertension (70.9%) was the commonest co-morbidity among ESRD patients. Dialysis patients scored significantly lower than the transplant patients in all the four domains as well as in overall perception of quality of life and general health. Ethnicity (p = 0.020), socio-economic status (p < 0.001), educational status (p < 0.001) and employment status (p = 0.009) was significantly associated with the overall QOL in ESRD patients. Across patient groups, educational status (p = 0.012) was positively significant with the QOL in dialysis patients while residence (p = 0.023), socio-economic status (p < 0.001), educational status (p = 0.004) and diabetes status (p = 0.010) was significantly associated with the QOL in transplant patients. Conclusion The overall QOL of the renal transplant recipient was higher than those of the patients on maintenance hemodialysis; this was true in all the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF. ESRD patient with low HRQOL should be prioritized for risk modification intervention.