Background
Patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis frequently exhibit poor mental health. We studied the effects of frequent in-center and nocturnal hemodialysis on depressive symptoms and self-reported mental health.
Study Design
1-year randomized-controlled clinical trials.
Setting & Participants
Hemodialysis centers in the United States and Canada. A total of 332 patients were randomized to frequent (six times per week) as compared with conventional (three times per week) hemodialysis in the Frequent Hemodialysis Network (FHN) Daily (n=245) and Nocturnal (n=87) Trials.
Intervention
Daily Trial was a trial of frequent (six times per week), as compared with conventional (three times per week) in-center hemodialysis. The Nocturnal Trial assigned patients to either frequent nocturnal hemodialysis (six times per week) or conventional hemodialysis (three times per week).
Outcomes
Self-reported depressive symptoms and mental health.
Measurements
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the mental health composite (MHC) score and emotional subscale of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey at baseline, 4 and 12 months. The MHC score is derived by summarizing these domains of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey: emotional, role emotional, energy/fatigue, and social functioning scales.
Results
In the Daily Trial, subjects randomized to frequent as compared with conventional in-center hemodialysis demonstrated no significant change over 12 months in adjusted mean BDI (−1.9 ± 0.7 vs. −0.6 ± 0.7; p=0.2), but experienced clinically significant improvements in adjusted mean MHC (3.7 ± 0.9 vs. 0.2 ± 1.0; P<0.01) and the emotional subscale (5.2 ± 1.6 vs. −0.3 ± 1.7; p=0.01). In the Nocturnal Trial, there were no significant changes among subjects randomized to nocturnal as compared with conventional hemodialysis on the same metrics.
Limitations
The trial interventions were not blinded.
Conclusions
Frequent in-center hemodialysis, as compared with conventional in-center hemodialysis, improved self-reported general mental health. Changes in self-reported depressive symptoms were not statistically significant. We were unable to conclude whether nocturnal hemodialysis yielded similar effects.