Objective:

The aim of the present study was to compare the health-related quality of life of the renal transplant patient versus the haemodialysis patient.

Material and Method: Matched (1:2) observational comparative study in 240 patients (80 on haemodialysis and 160 renal transplant recipients). Sampling was non-probabilistic purposive sampling. Matching was done by age, sex, and comorbidity. The KDQOL-SF questionnaire was used to analyse health-related quality of life.

Results:

Patients had a mean age of 59.80±12.45 years. Transplant patients had better scores, with significant differences, in all dimensions of the specific scales for renal diseases, except in “social support”. Similarly, transplant patients scored better, with significant differences, in all dimensions of the SF-36 questionnaire. Transplant diabetic patients scored worse on the dimensions “burden of kidney disease” and “pain”, and diabetic patients on dialysis on “emotional role”. In the transplant group, women scored significantly worse on the dimensions “list of symptoms/problems”, “effects of the disease”, “pain” and “vitality”; and in the haemodialysis group, women scored worse on “physical function”.

Conclusions:

Matched for age, sex and diabetes, renal transplant patients present better health-related quality of life than haemodialysis patients, both in the “renal disease-specific scales” and in the SF-36 dimensions. In both groups, diabetic patients have worse quality of life than non-diabetic patients.