The assessment of factors affecting fatigue in older people with hemodialysis

The proportion of older people over the world is increasing. In the past five decades, the number of older people who needs hemodialysis in terms of numbers and per million inhabitants has increased worldwide. More than half of these patients have reported fatigue and lack of energy. The feeling of fatigue has various effects on physical, cognitive and emotional aspects of older people life. This study aimed to investigate factors influencing fatigue in older people with hemodialysis. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 with 450 older people with hemodialysis selected randomly from 10 therapeutic and educational centers in an urban area of Tehran. Data was collected using the Brief Fatigue Inventory Scale. The average of fatigue in all samples was 5.83± 2.63 which showed a medium level of fatigue. Fatigue could become more severe with age, so that the highest level of fatigue was in older people with the age 90 and above. Also, women reported significantly more fatigue than men (p<0.5). People with a lower educational level experienced more fatigue. The level of income had significant impact on the level of fatigue so that fatigue was more common in older people with a lower income level (p<0.5). Older people with hemodialysis suffered from high levels of fatigue. In order to improve older people care and promote their quality of life, nurses are required to identify fatigue in older people and help with reducing it.