Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Mar 19, 2024; 14(3): 409-420
Published online Mar 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i3.409
Mediating role of social support in dysphoria, despondency, and quality of life in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis
Xiang Zhou, Hong Jiang, Yi-Peng Zhou, Xiao-Yu Wang, Hai-Yan Ren, Xue-Fei Tian, Qing-Qing Zhang
Xiang Zhou, Hong Jiang, Yi-Peng Zhou, Xiao-Yu Wang, Qing-Qing Zhang, Department of Nephrology, People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Urumqi 832000, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Hai-Yan Ren, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 832000, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Xue-Fei Tian, Section of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
Author contributions: Zhou X designed and performed the research and wrote the paper; Zhou YP designed the research and supervised the report; Wang XY and Hong J designed the research and contributed to the analysis; Ren HY and Tian XF designed the research and provided clinical advice; Zhang QQ designed the research and supervised the report; All authors approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Natural Science Foundation Project of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, No. 2021D01C143.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardians, provided informed written consent before study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The data used in this study can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request at qingqigzhang@163.com.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement – checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qing-Qing Zhang, MBBS, Associate Chief Nurse, Department of Nephrology, People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, No. 91, Tianchi Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi 832000, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. qingqigzhang@163.com
Received: November 30, 2023
Peer-review started: November 30, 2023
First decision: December 18, 2023
Revised: December 30, 2023
Accepted: January 23, 2024
Article in press: January 18, 2024
Published online: March 19, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Dysphoria and despondency are prevalent psychological issues in patients undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis (MHD) that significantly affect their quality of life (QOL). High levels of social support can significantly improve the physical and mental well-being of patients undergoing MHD. Currently, there is limited research on how social support mediates the relationship between dysphoria, despondency, and overall QOL in patients undergoing MHD. It is imperative to investigate this mediating effect to mitigate dysphoria and despondency in patients undergoing MHD, ultimately enhancing their overall QOL.

AIM

To investigate the mediating role of social support in relationships between dysphoria, despondency, and QOL among patients undergoing MHD.

METHODS

Participants comprised 289 patients undergoing MHD, who were selected using a random sampling approach. The Social Support Rating Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, and QOL Scale were administered. Correlation analysis was performed to examine the associations between social support, dysphoria, despondency, and QOL in patients undergoing MHD. To assess the mediating impact of social support on dysphoria, despondency, and QOL in patients undergoing MHD, a bootstrap method was applied.

RESULTS

Significant correlations among social support, dysphoria, despondency, and quality in patients undergoing MHD were observed (all P < 0.01). Dysphoria and despondency negatively correlated with social support and QOL (P < 0.01). Dysphoria and despondency had negative predictive impacts on the QOL of patients undergoing MHD (P < 0.05). The direct effect of dysphoria on QOL was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Social support mediated the relationship between dysphoria and QOL, and this mediating effect was significant (P < 0.05). Similarly, the direct effect of despondency on QOL was significant (P < 0.05). Moreover, social support played a mediating role between despondency and QOL, with a significant mediating effect (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that social support plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between dysphoria, despondency, and QOL in patients undergoing MHD.

Keywords: Maintenance hemodialysis, Social support, Dysphoria, Despondency, Quality of life, Mediating effect

Core Tip: Dysphoria and despondency are prevalent negative emotional experiences in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), significantly affecting both prognosis and overall quality of life (QOL). Enhancing social support can improve the QOL of patients undergoing MHD. This study surveyed 289 patients undergoing MHD using questionnaires to examine the mediating role of social support in the relationship between dysphoria, despondency, and QOL. The findings contribute to the development of a theoretical foundation for psychological interventions in patients undergoing MHD, ultimately aiming to effectively alleviate dysphoria and despondency and subsequently enhance their overall QOL.