Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience a decline in quality of life (QOL) as their renal function deteriorates. Health-related QOL (HRQOL) assessments help estimate health status, disease burden, treatment effectiveness, and survival in patients with CKD. Studies show HRQOL is positively associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate and declines with CKD progression. Kidney transplantation (KT) aims to improve survival and QOL, with research indicating better HRQOL and survival rates in KT patients compared with those on dialysis.

This study, using data from the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcomes in Patients With Kidney Transplantation and the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease, investigated longitudinal changes in HRQOL. Findings indicated that patients who underwent KT had higher SF-36 QOL scores than patients with CKD, suggesting KT provides significant QOL benefits beyond renal function alone. However, CKD-targeted scores did not differ significantly between KT and CKD patients, emphasizing the need for continuous HRQOL assessments and tailored interventions to improve patient outcomes.

Reference: Ryu JH, Koo TY, Ro H, et al. Better health-related quality of life in kidney transplant patients compared to chronic kidney disease patients with similar renal function. PLoS One. 2021;16(10):e0257981. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257981.