Comparing health-related quality of life and utility scores of patients undergoing hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in Indonesia.

Background: Although both hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) are covered by national healthcare insurance, 98% of kidney failure disease patients are treated with hemodialysis. This study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and utility scores of patients receiving hemodialysis and CAPD in Indonesia and determined factors associated with HRQoL and utility scores.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 and EQ-5D-5L instruments at six hospitals. Utility scores were presented as SF-6D and EQ-5D scores. Factors associated with the EQ-5D were evaluated using Tobit regressions due to ceiling effects, while the SF-6D and HRQoL were assessed using generalized linear models since the data were not normally distributed.

Results: Among the 613 patients, 76% were treated with hemodialysis. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and clinical parameters, CAPD patients reported better HRQoL compared to hemodialysis patients in terms of the SF-6D (p = .038), mental component summary (p = .020), symptoms (p = .005), and effects of kidney disease (p<.001), but no significant differences were reported in EQ-5D (p = .083), physical component summary (p = .323), burden of kidney disease (p = .111), and kidney summary scores (p = .068). Poorer HRQoL and utility scores were likely experienced by older patients who were male, married, with diabetes, treated in Class A hospitals, and with lower education, hemoglobin, and albumin levels.

Conclusion: In Indonesia, patients treated with CAPD had better HRQoL and utility scores compared to patients undergoing hemodialysis. Therefore, CAPD should be promoted by healthcare professionals as the first treatment option for patients who are eligible for both hemodialysis and CAPD.