Patient and Care Partner Burden in CKD Patients With and Without Anemia: A US-Based Survey
Kidney Medicine, 2022
Rationale & objective
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a far-reaching impact on both patients and care partners, which can be further compounded by frequent complications such as anemia. This study assessed the burden experienced by patients with CKD and the care partners of patients with CKD, with and without anemia.
Study design
Online survey.
Setting & participants
Adult patients with CKD and the care partners of adult patients with CKD living in the United States were recruited through the American Association of Kidney Patients and a third-party online panel (January 9, 2020-March 12, 2020).
Outcomes
Patient and care partner characteristics, care received or provided; health-related quality of life, and work productivity.
Analytical approach
Descriptive statistics were reported separately based on the presence or absence of anemia.
Results
In total, 410 patients (anemia: n=190, no anemia: n=220) and 258 care partners (anemia: n=110, no anemia: n=148) completed the survey. Most patients reported receiving paid or unpaid care because of their health condition (anemia: 58.9%, no anemia: 50.9%), with an overall average of 14.2 and 11.3 h/wk among the anemia and no anemia patients, respectively. The care partners also reported providing numerous hours of care (anemia: 33.6 h/wk, no anemia: 38.0 h/wk), especially care partners living with their care recipient (anemia: 52.6 h/wk, no anemia: 42.8 h/wk). Among the patients, those with anemia reported a numerically lower average health-related quality of life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Anemia score, anemia: 110.1; no anemia: 121.6). Most care partners reported a severe or very severe burden (Burden Scale for Family Caregivers-Short Version score≥15, anemia: 69.1%; no anemia: 58.8%). The work productivity impairment was substantial among employed patients (anemia: 44.9%, no anemia: 35.4%) and employed care partners (anemia: 47.9%, no anemia: 40.7%).
Limitations
The survey results may have been subject to selection and recall biases; moreover, the observational nature of the study does not allow for causal inferences.
Conclusions
Patients with CKD and the care partners of patients with CKD experience a considerable burden, especially when anemia is present.
Authors
Michalopoulos SN, Gauthier-Loiselle M, Aigbogun MS, Serra E, Bungay R, Clynes D, Cloutier M, Kahle E, Guérin A, Farag YMK, Wish JB