Comparison of self-reported health-related quality of life between Taiwan hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients: A multi-center collaborative study

Purpose The maintenance of good health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important goal for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Whether hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) have different impacts on HRQoL is a concern shared by both physicians and patients. A comparison study of HRQoL between Taiwanese HD and PD patients was conducted. Methods ESRD patients at 14 hospitals or dialysis centers in northern Taiwan were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The Chinese-language version of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36, Taiwan Standard Version 1.0) was used to evaluate HRQoL. Ordinal regression analyses were used to explore the independent association between HRQoL scores and dialysis modality. By Bonferroni correction test, a P value of \0.005 was regarded as significant. Results A total of 866 HD patients and 301 PD patients were included. After adjusting for confounding factors, no difference in HRQoL was found among the entire cohort and the diabetic subgroup. Conclusion This study demonstrated that Taiwanese HD and PD patients had similar HRQoL. The current survey improves our understanding of the association of HRQoL with dialysis modality in Taiwan ESRD population.