Effects of Nutritional Knowledge of Informal Caregivers on Depression and Metabolic Outcomes of Hemodialysis Patients

ABSTRACT

Chronic renal failure (CRF) makes significant changes in the life of patients and their families. A good family support has a positive effect on successful patients’ adaptation to the treatment and compliance with dietary regimen. This study aimed to examine the effects of nutritional knowledge of informal caregivers on depression and metabolic outcomes of hemodialysis patients. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Baskent University Hemodialysis Center with 116 hemodialysis patients and their informal caregivers. Findings revealed that the caregivers who were the couple of the patients had the highest nutritional knowledge level than the other caregivers (p < .05). The postgraduate caregivers were more likely to have high nutritional knowledge level than the others (p < .05). The inflammation marker of the patients was significantly lower in the group of caregivers with higher level (T3 group) of nutritional knowledge than the others (p < .05). The mean CES-D scores were also more likely to be low in T3 group than in the others (p < .05). These findings highlight that the nutritional knowledge of caregivers of hemodialysis patients may have an additional benefit on patients’ nutritional management and metabolic outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Hemodialysis
• informal caregivers
• nutritional knowledge
• metabolic outcomes
• depression

Acknowledgments

All persons who meet authorship criteria are listed as authors, and all authors certify that they have participated sufficiently in the study. Gul Kiziltan, technical writer, Perim Fatma Turker, and Mendane Saka assisted in revising the results and finalizing the manuscript. Esra Koseler Beyaz manage the statistical analysis. Cihat Burak Sayın provided editorial assistance on this manuscript. We would like to thank our patients and their relatives who attended this study voluntarily. We also express many thanks to dialysis health professionals for their cooperation and help.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no relevant financial interests.

Additional information

Funding

This study was approved by Baskent University Institutional Review Board (Project no: KA20/177) and supported by Baskent University Research Fund.