During the 2020 Spring Clinical Meetings of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), an abstract was presented on the mental health needs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.* The study’s objectives were to both “quantify the mental health needs of U.S. adults” with CKD and to “assess the gaps in mental health treatment” for them.

What they did

A group of researchers from Emory University examined mental health (MH) conditions, MH treatment, and unmet need in three different groups of people:

• The first group was made up of adults with no chronic conditions (NCC).
• The second group included patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) or hypertension (HNT) who did not have CKD.
• The third group consisted of CKD patients.

In addition, the following data was collected on each participant:

• age,
• sex, 
• race/ethnicity, 
• insurance, 
• education, and 
• family income.

The frequency of MH problems was estimated in each of the three groups. The data included self-reported MH issues, as well as the use of MH services in the previous year.

What they found

• Adults with CKD more often reported mental illness, serious mental illness (SMI), and suicidal thoughts than DM/HTN patients or adults with NNC.
• Moreover, adults with CKD were more likely to have unmet MH care needs, regardless of having received some form of MH treatment or not.

What this means

CKD seems to pose a more significant mental health burden than some other chronic conditions, which may be due to the CKD’s more complex medical and behavioral health elements. In order to improve CKD treatment and care for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), more effective management of patients’ mental health needs is necessary.

As one of the study’s authors explained, “While the fact that we observed these differences was not too surprising, just how large the differences were was striking, particularly with respect to serious mental illness.”

Additional information can be found in the MedPage Today article, “CKD Patients Aren’t Having Mental Health Needs Fully Met—Study: Those with CKD had double the rate of self-reported unmet mental healthcare needs” by Kristen Monaco.

*Wilk, A.; Hu, J-C.; Chehal, P.; Yarbrough, C.R.; et al. (Spring 2020). “National Estimates of Mental Health Needs among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.” National Kidney Foundation.