Eureka! Institutional Repository

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a common chronic disease accompanied by severe complications. It is the leading cause of End-Stage Chronic Renal Disease (ESRD) requiring management either by hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Consequently, the impact arising under the chronicity of the disease affects the psychological, family and social environment and their Quality of Life (QOL). The aim of this study was to estimate the disease burden of patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) during pre-End-Stage and End-Stage Renal Disease. Methods: A sample of 103 patients with DN, treated at the General Hospital of Veria were studied during May and June 2016. The study was conducted using the Dialysis Symptoms Index (DSI) for the assessment of Chronic Kidney Disease symptom load (CKD), the European Quality of Life (EuroQol) questionnaire for assessing the QOL of patients in the Renal Outpatient Clinic, Hemodialysis and Peritoneal DialysisUnits. Results: It was found that the Renal Replacement method, the presence of DM and CKD’s stage affect significantly the self-assessment of patients regarding painful symptoms of DN. Furthermore, the above factors affect important aspects of QOL of patients such as mobility and self-care. Conclusions: Pre-End stage patients experience more severe painful symptoms of DN compared to patients on Renal Replacement Therapies.