Correlation between coping style and quality of life among hemodialysis patients from a low-income area in Brazil

Quality of life (QOL) is an important outcome among end-stage renal disease patients and can be associated with modifiable behaviors. We analyzed the correlation between coping style and QOL among hemodialysis patients. We studied 166 end-stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis. They were older than 18 years, under hemodialysis for at least 3 months, and had never received a transplant. Quality of life was assessed by SF-36 and coping style was scored by the Jalowiec Coping Scale. Emotion-oriented coping and problem-oriented coping scores were compared according to sex, comorbidity, and socioeconomic status by the Mann-Whitney test. Correlations between QOL and 2 coping styles (emotion-oriented coping and problem-oriented coping) were adjusted for age, time on dialysis, hemoglobin, creatinine, albumin, calcium–phosphorus product, and Kt/V by backward stepwise linear regression. There was no difference between coping scores according to sex, comorbidity, and socioeconomic status. Emotion-oriented coping was independently and negatively associated with 4 QOL dimensions: physical functioning, role-physical, role-emotional, and mental health. Our results indicate that patients with high emotion-oriented coping scores should be seen at risk for poor QOL. Patient education in coping skills may be used to change the risk of poor QOL