Aim: The risk of infection with COVID-19 in hemodialysis (HD) patients is higher compared to the general population. Additionally, HD patients are at higher risk of developing post-COVID-19 infection sequelae. However, this has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, we aimed to study the impact of COVID-19 on nutritional status and psychological health in HD patients 6 months following recovery.
Materials and methods: We recruited HD patients who were proven to be infected with COVID-19 and received treatment at two HD units in two institutions between April 2022 and December 2022. Additionally, we enrolled a group of age- and sex-matched HD patients who had not previously been infected with COVID-19 or received vaccination. Nutritional status was assessed using malnutrition inflammation score (MIS), while psychological health was assessed using online questionnaires. The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9) was employed to assess symptoms of depression, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD 7) was used to identify anxiety disorders, the Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ 15) was utilized to measure somatic symptoms, and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was used to measure insomnia.
Results: A total of 60 subjects (30 patients and 30 controls) were assessed in the study. We found statistically significant differences between patients and controls regarding the MIS (median score (interquartile range (IQR)); 11 (9 - 12) and 5.5 (5 - 7), respectively), PHQ 15 (median score (IQR); 17.5 (15 - 19) and 9 (6 - 11), respectively), PHQ 9 (median score (IQR); 17 (13 - 19) and 5 (7 - 8), respectively), GAD 7 (median score (IQR); 14 (11 - 16) and 6 (4 - 8), respectively), and ISI (median score (IQR); 20 (15 - 22) and 8 (7 - 11), respectively), with p < 0.001 for all scores.
Conclusion: COVID-19 has long-term effects on the psychosocial health of HD patients and may lead to a higher incidence of malnutrition 6 months post recovery.