Quality of Life Among Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in the Taza Region, Morocco

Background and objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been increasingly recognized as a significant worldwide public health concern.Quality of life (QoL) is an essential component in its management, particularly for patients undergoing hemodialysis.As the ultimate goal of public health is to enhance patients' QoL since it is associated with extended survival and improved treatment outcomes, nephrologists must systematically assess QoL and its determinants to optimize care.To achieve this objective, this study was conceived to assess and describe QoL of patients undergoing dialysis in a Moroccan population and identify sociodemographic and clinical factors affecting it.Methods: Following a cross-sectional design, this study was conducted in the province of Taza, located in northeastern Morocco, across two dialysis facilities to ensure better representation of both public and private sectors.The study population included all patients undergoing treatment at both selected facilities during the study period (N = 120).The study collected data using a questionnaire divided into three main sections: socio-demographic characteristics, clinical data, and QoL, which was assessed using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short-Form (KDQoL-SF™) version 1.3, translated and validated in Moroccan dialect by Bouidida et al.The factors associated with KDQoL were determined by univariate analysis with appropriate statistical tests to assess the impact of various variables on the QoL of hemodialysis patients.Results: A total of 120 chronic hemodialysis patients were included.The mean age of participants was 49.26 ± 16.02 years, with a male predominance.Hypertension and diabetes were the most prevalent comorbidities (31.7% and 25.8%, respectively).The overall global score of the KDQoL-SF™ was 60.83 ± 10.39.Patients aged 60 years or less (p-value < 0.001), as well as educated patients (p-value = 0.031), had significantly higher mean scores for the overall global score of the KDQoL-SF.Moreover, several clinical variables were also significantly associated with QoL.Notably, participants with diabetes (p-value < 0.001), hypertension (p-value = 0.002), or diabetic nephropathy (p-value < 0.001) reported significantly lower overall scores.Additionally, participants who had been receiving hemodialysis for six years or more (p-value = 0.008), as well as those having three sessions of HD or more (p-value < 0.001), reported lower scores of QoL.In this adjusted model, older age, rural residence, high number of weekly sessions, and diabetes were negatively associated with the KDQoL score.Conclusion: Advanced age, rural residence, diabetes, and session frequency were significantly linked to poorer QoL.Our study showed that assessing QoL in chronic hemodialysis patients is highly valuable to guide clinicians in understanding the disease and treatment burden and its impact on dialysis patients' QoL.