Objective

To identify the most influential variables in health-related quality of life in dialysis patients, identifying the most common measuring instruments.

Material and Method

A systematic review was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Scielo databases. Scientific articles in English and Spanish have been included. Articles that evaluate health-related quality of life in dialysis patients, excluding those articles that did not provide conclusive results, in the pediatric population and those that addressed this parameter exclusively in transplanted patients, were analyzed.

Results

36 articles published between 2009-2019 have been included. Health-related quality of life appears diminished in all dialysis patients, more specifically in hemodialysis. The most influential variables in the decrease of the health-related quality of life of the dialysis patient are: female sex, older age, not having a family nucleus, primary studies, and affectation of the employment situation in patients of working age; in addition to comorbidity associated with kidney disease, anxiety and depression, presence of pain and high degree of dependence.

Conclusions

The decrease in the quality of life is present in many dialysis patients, more frequently in hemodialysis. Regarding the evaluation instruments used, the most used is the KDQOL-SF. This loss of quality of life is related to being a woman, old age, associated comorbidity, pain with limitations, presence of anxiety and/or depression and greater dependence.