Association Between Hemoglobin Levels and Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Chronic Hemodialysis

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia is a global problem that can be found almost all over the world. Anemia is the most common complication in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis which can affect quality of life. Health-related quality of life is a factor that correlates with morbidity, mortality, and patient care costs. This study aimed to assess the correlation between hemoglobin levels and quality of life in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study with consecutive sampling of 92 research subjects conducted in November-December 2022 at the hemodialysis installation at Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital. This study used the SF-36 questionnaire instrument which was divided into 8 quality of life domains.Results: Of the 92 samples that have been collected, 54 were male patients (58.7%) while 42 were female (41.3%). The average age of the subjects in this study was 47.55 years old. The highest level of education was senior high school graduates with a total of 40 people (43.5%). Hemoglobin levels in 92 research subjects were in the range of 7–3.9 g/dl with an average of 9.70±1.63. Fifty subjects (54.4%) had a poor quality of life and 42 subjects (45.6%) had a good quality of life. The range of total quality of life values was 22.98–89.75 with an average of 59.87±14.16. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between hemoglobin levels with quality of life of the patients at Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital. The higher the hemoglobin level, the higher the total quality of life of the patients. It is recommended to the hemodialysis unit at Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital to increase hemoglobin level in hemodialysis patients.