Varying Psychological Stress Among Rwandan Patients with Chronic Diseases

Background: While psychological stress cannot be dissociated from chronic diseases, the extent to which it impacts the management of chronic diseases is poorly understood. This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence and impact of psychological stress among Rwandan patients with chronic diseases, particularly hypertension, heart failure, malignancies, diabetes, and kidney failure. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among internal medicine patients receiving treatment for chronic diseases at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (n = 81) and the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB) (n = 78) between May 1 and June 30, 2024. Results: There was a very high prevalence of psychological stress (91.8%) among Rwandan patients with various forms of chronic diseases. Despite the regular monitoring of their disease progression by their healthcare providers (92.4%) and compliance with their medication (89.9%) and dietary (89.3%) regimens, many of them still experienced frequent complications (96.8%) and worsening outcomes (95.5%), though there was an improvement in symptoms (94.3%). Furthermore, there was a weak relationship (r = 0.210, ρ = 0.000) between the severity of psychological stress experienced by patients with chronic diseases and their treatment outcomes. Finally, patients with heart failure ( p < 0.001), hypertension ( p < 0.001), diabetes ( p < 0.001), and malignancies ( p < 0.001) experienced higher levels of psychological stress. Conclusion: Hypertension, heart failure, malignancies, and diabetes, but not kidney failure, predict psychological stress among Rwandan patients.