Abstract
The quality of life (QOL) of hemodialysis (HD) patients was evaluated on the basis of a questionnaire assessing the significance of alexithymia in QOL taking into account the interrelationship between QOL and alexithymia, which is closely related to the self-control of HD patients. The subjects of this study were 194 HD patients classified on the basis of underlying disease, method of treatment, age, and sex.
There was a significant negative correlation between QOL evaluation and alexithymia with respect to 3 out of the 11 items, i.e., emotions, social relations and satisfaction with life, however, there was no significant correlation with respect to any of the remaining 8 items. Such a QOL dissociation in terms of psychosociological and medical aspects suggests the need for comprehensive assessment of QOL in HD patients. On the other hand, even though the psychological aspects of QOL seem favorable, patients often exhibit poor self-control due to alexithymia. Thus, the psychological aspects of QOL are apparently good in many cases. It is important then to evaluate the QOL of HD patients from several aspects, including the study of alexithymia, a psychological index reflecting degree of self-control.
