Predicting the Quality of Life of Hemodialysis Patients based on Alexithymia, Anxiety Sensitivity and Psychological Hardiness

This research aimed to predict the quality of life of hemodialysis patients based on alexithymia, anxiety sensitivity, and psychological hardiness.

The current research was of a descriptive-correlational type. The statistical population of this study included all patients undergoing hemodialysis in Isfahan City in 2022. Accordingly, 294 participants (180 men, 114 women) selected using the available sampling method. Data collection tools include the alexithymia scale (Bagby and Parker, 1994), anxiety sensitivity scale (Reiss et al., 1986), psychological hardiness scale (Kiamarthi et al., 1998), and quality of life scale (World Health Organization, 1996). The research data collected using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and step-by-step regression using SPSS-27 software.

The results showed that alexithymia, anxiety sensitivity, and psychological hardiness could predict 49.5% of the variance in quality of life. Alexithymia predicted 42% of the variance of quality of life (P<0.01, β=-0.420), anxiety sensitivity predicted 25/7% of the variance of quality of life (P<0.01, β=-0/257), and psychological hardiness predicted 25/5% of the variance of quality of life (P<0.01, β=0.255).

Based on this, it can to conclude that alexithymia and anxiety sensitivity are among the factors that play an effective role in reducing the quality of life of hemodialysis patients. Alexithymia is a dysfunction in emotional processing that leads to a decrease in the ability to identify and diagnose emotions. When a person suffers from advanced kidney disease, i.e., undergoes hemodialysis, he faces problems and defects in the fields of self-esteem and independence in performing health and personal behaviors, so the high level of anxiety sensitivity and these physical worries in these people can be considered a common reaction in chronic patients. Since the quality of life defined and interpreted depending on the definition of the individual and his beliefs regarding the situation in which the individual is, these patients find their quality of life low. On the other hand, hemodialysis patients faced with an uncertain future and the inability to maintain the previous values of life, or at least the inability to follow these values as before the disease, since they find themselves unable to make changes in the said disease. Therefore, they become aroused faster and try less than healthy people to control their emotional situations, such as anxiety and physical changes. Accordingly, replanting and planning for the development and training of psychological hardiness in hemodialysis patients leads to an increase in the quality of life