A comparative study of the quality of life in patients undergoing hemodialysis and kidney transplant recipients: systematic review and meta-analysis

Given the huge mental, psychological, and economic impact imposed on patients with chronic renal failure, it seems quite necessary to study life satisfaction in such individuals in to order to provide the necessary information and plan for appropriate services. In form of a systematic review and meta-analysis, the present study was conducted in to order to compare the quality of life in two groups of patients, one undergoing hemodialysis and the other recipients of a kidney transplant.

In order to fulfill the objective of the present study, among innumerable researches carried out in this field, through the implementation of a meta-analysis checklist nine researches were found to be qualified for the final meta-analysis (specific consideration was given to the following criteria: hypothesis, research method, statistical population, sample size, sampling method, measurement tool, and statistical analysis method). All related studies conducted from June 1995 to July 2016 in Iran.

Out of 310 articles that had been selected initially, 262 were removed after reviewing their full text, then, 39 more articles were removed due to over-similarity of titles or exact repetition of the same topic. Finally, 9 studies Were found to be for the meta-analysis process. The sample size included 1736 subjects. The results of the analysis of total quality of life scores in renal transplant patients and hemodialysis patients showed that the mean overall quality of life of transplanted patients was 42.26±42.2 and the mean score for patients with hemodialysis was 42.9±36.36. The difference in the mean quality of life in renal transplant patients and hemodialysis patients was statistically significant (P<0.05), and renal transplant patients had a better quality of life in comparison with patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Patients undergoing hemodialysis experience more severe suffering due to their specific circumstances. Recognizing and applying the predictive factors for the quality of life of these patients can help to design more suitable care and treatment programs. It is also desirable to take effective steps to improve the quality of life of these patients in planning health-care services; the final hope is to provide considerable enhancement within the quality of life for patients with renal failure.