Background: Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) receiving peritoneal dialysis
(PD) or haemodyalisis (PD) appear to be less physically active than healthy persons,
a situation that could lead to reductions in quality of life. The aim of the present
study was to assess and compare physical activity and health-related quality of life
in renal patients on HD and PD programs.Methods: In May 2020, 130 patients (106 HD
and 24 PD) were enrolled in a study of chronic dialysis programs. All participants
received a questionnaire containing information on demographics, treatment, and co-morbidities.
Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire
(IPAQ) short form, and quality of life was measured using the Kidney Disease Quality
of Life-Short Form 12 (KDQOL-SF-12) questionnaire comprising mental (MCS) and physical
components (PCS). Non-parametric statistical tests were executed with 0.05 as the
level of significance.Results: The physical activity of patients treated in both HD
and PD programs could be considered as low, without a statistically significant difference
between the two modalities. For the quality of life measures, we found a significant
(p = .004) difference regarding Physical Component Summary (PCS) scores, with higher
PCS scores in patients treated in the PD programme compared to HD. Furthermore, higher
physical activity levels were associated with better quality of life parameters in
both groups.Conclusion: This study confirms the importance of physical activity among
dialysis patients with ESKD, suggesting that greater activity could be associated
with a better quality of life.