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Multicenter Study
. 2020 Jan 6;21(1):7.
doi: 10.1186/s12882-019-1671-9.

Associations between the measures of physical function, risk of falls and the quality of life in haemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study

Karsten Vanden Wyngaert  1 , Amaryllis H Van Craenenbroeck  2   3 , Sunny Eloot  4 , Patrick Calders  5 , Bert Celie  1 , Els Holvoet  4 , Wim Van Biesen  4
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Associations between the measures of physical function, risk of falls and the quality of life in haemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study

Karsten Vanden Wyngaert et al. BMC Nephrol. .

Abstract

Background: Impaired physical function due to muscle weakness and exercise intolerance reduces the ability to perform activities of daily living in patients with end-stage kidney disease, and by consequence, Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). Furthermore, the risk of falls is an aggregate of physical function and, therefore, could be associated with HRQoL as well. The present study examined the associations between objective and subjective measures of physical function, risk of falls and HRQoL in haemodialysis patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional multicentre study included patients on maintenance haemodialysis. Physical function (quadriceps force, handgrip force, Sit-to-Stand, and six-minute walking test), the risk of falls (Tinetti, FICSIT-4, and dialysis fall index) and HRQoL (PROMIS-29 and EQ-5D-3 L) were measured and analysed descriptively, by general linear models and logistic regression.

Results: Of the 113 haemodialysis patients (mean age 67.5 ± 16.1, 57.5% male) enrolled, a majority had impaired quadriceps force (86.7%) and six-minute walking test (92%), and an increased risk of falls (73.5%). Whereas muscle strength and exercise capacity were associated with global HRQoL (R2 = 0.32) and the risk of falls, the risk of falls itself was related to psycho-social domains (R2 = 0.11) such as depression and social participation, rather than to the physical domains of HRQoL. Objective measures of physical function were not associated with subjective fatigue, nor with subjective appreciation of health status.

Conclusions: More than muscle strength, lack of coordination and balance as witnessed by the risk of falls contribute to social isolation and HRQoL of haemodialysis patients. Mental fatigue was less common than expected, whereas, subjective and objective physical function were decreased.

Keywords: End-stage kidney disease; Haemodialysis; Physical function; Quality of life; Risk of falls.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Problems reported on each domain of the quality of life. Data are reported as a percentage of the population
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Physical impairments. Data are reported as a percentage of the population
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Radar chart of the dimensions of EQ-5D and functional performance. Increasing scores correspond with increasing difficulty in domains of HRQoL. Patients were allocated to the good, moderate or severely impaired functional performance group based on having no, only one of two or both unfavourable scores on 6MWT and dialysis fall index
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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