A comparison study of depression between hemodialysis patients and renal transplant recipients

Depression is the fourth most disabling disease affecting people worldwide. It is also the most common psychological disorder among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The present study aimed to assess and compare the depression level between hemodialysis patients and rental transplant recipients. A cross sectional study was conducted to recruit 180 patients (61 hemodialysis patients and 47 renal transplant recipients) during 1383-84 in Sanandaj city. Depression level was measured using the Beck depression scale (BDI). All statistics were computed by the SPSS.win software using chi-square and t-tests. The mean age of hemodialysis patients and renal transplantation patients was 47.4+/-15.5 and 39.9+/-9.7 years respectively which was significantly different (P<0.003). Male and female participants didn’t show any significant difference in their depression level. A total of %93 of hemodialysis patients were depressed (mild to severe) compare to 56% in renal transplantation patients. Severe depression was found among %16.4 of hemodialysis patients and %6.4 of renal transplant recipients. Difference of depression level between these two groups were statistically significant (P<0.000). There were no significant difference between the level of depression and demographic factors of age, gender, marital status and education. The study revealed high rate of depression among hemodialysis patients and renal transplantation recipients which was much higher in the first group. Benefiting self-administrative test of BDI could prevent us mixing up the symptoms of ESRD with depression during assessing and screening depressed patients. Therefore, it offers a simple and economical method to diagnose and treat their depression among on time among.