We all know depression can effect how you feel, but a new study found severe depression is associated with worse outcomes for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Individuals who had a major depressive episode were almost twice as likely as patients who did not have a depressive episode to begin dialysis, be hospitalized or die within a year.
 
Physicians advise screening all CKD patients for depression, although it remains unclear how to treat depression in these patients and whether treating the depression would improve health outcomes.
 
For more information about depression and kidney disease, order AAKP's brochures Understanding Depression in Kidney Disease and When Your Loved One is Depressed. You may also listen to the archived AAKP HealthLine call, titled Understanding and Coping with Depression.

This article originally appeared in the December 2008 issue of Kidney Beginnings: The Electronic Newsletter.