Women on hemodialysis may have more headaches, dry skin than men
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Key takeaways:
- Overall symptom burden was numerically higher in women than men.
- Women were more likely to report headaches, shortness of breath and dry skin.
Women on in-center hemodialysis generally may experience more headaches and other symptoms than men, according to results of a published cluster study.
“Patients with kidney failure (KF) requiring hemodialysis often struggle with troublesome symptoms that significantly impact quality of life,” Georgia Parsons, MBBS, of the Stanford University School of Medicine department of medicine and nephrology division, wrote with colleagues. “Despite women having longer life expectancy compared with men in the general population, among patients with KF, female patients often have poorer survival.”
As symptom disparity may suggest underlying differences in disease mechanisms, according to the researchers, they evaluated 127 patients to further explore gender differences regarding symptomatic experience. Parsons and colleagues analyzed data from the Timing of Antihypertensive Medications on Key Outcomes in Hemodialysis cluster trial, which focused on the timing of blood pressure medication and intradialytic hypotension.
Of the cohort, 36% were women and 64% were men. All patients were on in-center hemodialysis.
Participants completed the Dialysis Symptoms Index 30-question survey during baseline, which measured symptoms in the prior week using a severity scale. Total scores ranged from 0 to 150 on the index, with lower scores marking fewer symptoms or less severity. While not statistically significant, overall symptom burden was numerically higher in women than men, data showed. Moreover, the proportion of patients with symptoms and the severity symptoms were often higher for women than men, according to the study.
Specifically, researchers found women were more likely to report headaches, shortness of breath and dry skin. Men commonly reported decreased sexual arousal.
Factors like physiological distinctions in cardiac and vascular function, blood volume and fluid removal during dialysis may explain some of the symptom discrepancy between men and women, Parsons wrote with colleagues.
“Additionally, underlying hormonal differences and the impact of KF on the endocrine system could play a role.” They added, “these findings underscore the importance of addressing symptom burdens in all patients receiving hemodialysis and consider gender-specific aspects in the management of certain hemodialysis-related symptoms.”
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