ASSOCIATION OF DEPRESSION WITH SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING HEMODIALYSIS IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: Aim of our study was determine the association of depression with socio-demographic factors in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Study Design: Cross sectional comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: the study was conducted in department of medicine, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from August, 2018 to July, 2019 for the duration of one year. Material and Methods: Eighty-eight patients undergoing hemodialysis were included. Data were collected using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Demographic data, including age, gender, status within the family, education, duration of dialysis and social support was documented. Patients were graded based on Hamilton scoring as: 0-9 normal, 10-13 mild depression, 14-17 moderate depression, above 17 severe depression. Results: There were 61(69.3%) male and 27 (30.7%) female patients with mean age of 48.43±12.69 years. The mean duration of dialysis was 35±29.73 days. Sixty-seven patients (76.1%) were identified as having depression. Out of these 28 (31.8%) had mild depression while 12 (13.6%) had moderate and 27 (30.7%) had severe depression. Mean depression score was higher in females (17.56 ± 6.67) than in males (13.13 ± 5.67) and the difference was significant (p=0.002). No association of depression with age (p=0.75), duration of dialysis (p=0.07), marital status (p=0.500), status with in the family (p=0.47) or education (p=0.59) was revealed, however it was strongly and positively correlated with social support (p