Anxiety and PD

During my Fresenius visits, while interfacing with other PD patients, I have noticed what I consider to be a high degree of anxiety in their behavior. It is manifested in several ways, the main one is PD patient’s inability to hold eye contact. I wanted to know what research has shown about this behavior, and found the following from this link to be applicable:

“Anxiety, which is defined as an emotional state in which a person experiences intense fear, uncertainty and apprehension towards a situation or event that is anticipated¹⁴¹, is reported in 24–43% of patients treated with PD^139,142, particularly in men and patients with diabetes¹³⁹, and is independently associated with death and HD transfer¹⁴². Fear of adverse events, social isolation, perceived financial stress from dialysis costs, caregiver burden and fear of HD transfer are important contributors to the development of chronic anxiety in these patients¹⁴³. Ensuring appropriate patient selection for PD, providing comprehensive and early pre-dialysis education, and supporting patients with a multidisciplinary network are crucial measures for minimizing anxiety in this population¹⁴³.”

Sums it up pretty well. Not only do PD patients exhibit Anxiety, they exhibit “Chronic Anxiety” according to the cited research. This is how Perplexity defines Chronic Anxiety: “Chronic anxiety is a form of anxiety that persists for a long time, often months or years, and can interfere with daily life. It is characterized by persistent and excessive worry and fear about various situations, which may be out of proportion to the actual impact of the events. This can lead to difficulty in controlling the anxiety and can affect a person’s physical and mental well-being. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the common types of anxiety disorders that involves persistent feelings of anxiety or dread, which can interfere with daily life.”

So if you’re a man, and a diabetic (as I am last time I checked) there is a finite probability you experience chronic anxiety associated with dialysis. Knowing this, you can take steps to fight the beast. That’s one of the reasons there is a social worker on the dialysis team, to help fight these demons. Seek help if you need it. It’s there for the asking!