Self-assessed social functioning on long-term hemodialysis: Medical and psychiatric aspects

Abstract Among 64 dialysis patients, social functioning as compared with before dialysis was reported as better or the same by 11%, as the same to slightly worse by 53%, and as slightly to much worse by 36%. Psychiatric morbidity, medical complications of end-stage renal disease, and strained social support systems all contributed to this varied outcome. Thirty percent of the patients had nonpsychotic depression on the Catego Classification. These affective symptoms were associated significantly (P