OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association of Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) with Socioeconomic status (SES) factors and health insurance in end stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients with dialysis and non-dialysis treatment.

METHODS: A cross sectional study was performed in nephrology unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital over one year. Demographic, SES factors and insurance data were collected in a pre-designed data collection form. The HRQOL was assessed by using Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL-36) questionnaire. Independent-samples T test was used to find association between SES and insurance with KDQOL domain scores among dialysis and non-dialysis.

RESULTS: Total of 160 ESKD participants were recruited; categorized into 80 patients each in dialysis and non-dialysis group. Overall, 78.1% were males participants; with mean age of 54.24±15.72, 61% of them aged below 60. KDQOL-36 domains score when compared among the two groups, mean total score of HRQOL in dialysis patients (52.73 ± 12.75) was found having low score when compared with non-dialysis patients (57.34 ± 15.85). The association between SES and Insurance status with KDQOL-36 questionnaire domains showed more significant association with residency (P = 0.008) from SES factors and in insurance (0.024). A positive association observed among participants with insurance (P = 0.014).

CONCLUSIONS: Dialysis patients were found with poor HRQOL when compared to non-dialysis group. Among SES factors; urban residency and insurance had positive association with domain score. Employment status and education level were not showing the significance association with the domain score in the study population.