DOI

https://doi.org/10.25772/F7WR-4K58

Defense Date

2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Nancy McCain

Abstract

The study of immune status and biobehavioral measures is limited in professional nursing. The purpose of the pre-pilot study was to describe levels of cytokines prior to, during, and after dialysis, examine changes in cytokine levels from immediate pre-dialysis to immediate post-dialysis, and to compare cytokine patterns prior to and after dialysis. A within subject descriptive study was conducted as part of a larger pilot study to describe levels of cytokines prior to, during, and after dialysis, examine changes in cytokine levels from immediate pre-dialysis to immediate post-dialysis, and to compare cytokine patterns prior to and after dialysis. Serum cytokine samples were collected pre-dialysis and every 30 minutes during the dialysis treatment and immediately post-dialysis from a convenience sample of 10 patients. Mean age of subjects was 53.5 years and 60% were African American. The sample was equally divided between female and male. Statistical analysis using a nonparametric paired difference test showed that only MIP-1β showed a significant increase from pre-dialysis to post-dialysis. Based on the results of this study, a second descriptive study was conducted. The purpose of the second study was to examine the relationships among disease related factors, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, immune indicators, and HRQOL among patients requiring hemodialysis for ESRD using a PNI framework. Using a descriptive design, participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and one quality of life measure, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General scale (FACT-G), during the first hour of the dialysis treatment. In addition, blood samples were collected immediately prior to dialysis for cytokine measurement and demographic information was collected from the medical record. The sample included 75 adults with ESRD requiring dialysis who consented and were enrolled in the study. Regression analysis showed significant correlations among the psychosocial variables (p = <0.0001, r = 0.65). Negative correlations were found between perceived stress and health-related quality of life (p = 0.024) and depressive symptoms with health-related quality of life (p = 0.0003). MIP-1 ß was the only cytokine significantly (and positively) correlated with health-related quality of life ( p = 0.0419). Principal component analysis of the cytokine data revealed three factors. A three-factor solution described the cytokine data; Factors 1 and 3 represented a pro-inflammatory response and Factor 2 represented a mixture of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses. There was a significant correlation between Factor 1 and depressive symptoms (p = 0.0069). Significant differences in the distributions of Factors 2 and 3 were associated with the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (Chi-square = 4.0, df = 1, p = 0.047), (Chi-square = 4.1, df = 1, p = 0.043), respectively, and Factor 3 with hypertension (HTN) (Chi-square = 7.6. df = 1, p = 0.006). However no relationships were found between the cytokine factors and QOL, PSS, and other variables. Findings suggest that there are relationships among psychosocial variables and possibly biological interactions that may affect perceptions of health-related quality of life among persons with ESRD on hemodialysis.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

12-16-2011

Included in

Nursing Commons

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