Table 2.

Symptoms of older hemodialysis patients (n = 167)

Symptom	Prevalence	Frequency (4-point Likert scale) $\overline{x}$ ± s	Severity (4-point Likert scale) $\overline{x}$ ± s	Distress (5-point Likert scale) $\overline{x}$ ± s
Constipation	53.89%	1.54 ± 1.56	0.93 ± 1.02	1.56 ± 1.66
Nausea	35.93%	0.71 ± 1.07	0.57 ± 0.86	1.25 ± 1.81
Vomiting	27.54%	0.54 ± 0.97	0.43 ± 0.79	0.98 ± 1.71
Diarrhea	8.38%	0.16 ± 0.57	0.14 ± 0.50	0.24 ± 0.84
Decreased appetite	34.13%	1.02 ± 1.52	0.62 ± 0.97	1.17 ± 1.72
Muscle cramp	48.50%	0.94 ± 1.07	0.71 ± 0.89	1.53 ± 1.74
Swelling in legs	14.37%	0.26 ± 0.70	0.22 ± 0.58	0.38 ± 0.97
Shortness of breath	14.37%	0.30 ± 0.80	0.27 ± 0.71	0.49 ± 1.22
Dizziness	41.32%	0.84 ± 1.10	0.58 ± 0.84	1.24 ± 1.63
Restless legs	13.17%	0.31 ± 0.88	0.22 ± 0.66	0.44 ± 1.21
Numbness or tingling in feet	31.14%	0.75 ± 1.27	0.53 ± 0.90	0.95 ± 1.54
Fatigue	61.08%	1.87 ± 1.67	1.10 ± 1.05	2.08 ± 1.83
Cough	28.14%	0.64 ± 1.14	0.42 ± 0.76	0.80 ± 1.38
Dry mouth	70.66%	2.18 ± 1.60	1.28 ± 1.05	2.36 ± 1.73
Bone or joint pain	31.74%	0.87 ± 1.37	0.56 ± 0.95	1.10 ± 1.76
Chest pain	16.17%	0.33 ± 0.82	0.28 ± 0.72	0.53 ± 1.30
Headache	17.37%	0.31 ± 0.73	0.25 ± 0.59	0.48 ± 1.15
Muscle soreness	11.98%	0.24 ± 0.73	0.22 ± 0.65	0.33 ± 0.98
Difficulty concentrating	9.58%	0.19 ± 0.63	0.18 ± 0.57	0.26 ± 0.81
Dry skin	74.85%	2.47 ± 1.61	1.38 ± 1.08	2.08 ± 1.59
Itching	71.86%	2.14 ± 1.58	1.37 ± 1.17	2.83 ± 1.99
Worrying	30.54%	0.63 ± 1.03	0.43 ± 0.73	0.86 ± 1.38
Feeling nervous	23.35%	0.49 ± 0.97	0.35 ± 0.71	0.64 ± 1.23
Trouble falling asleep	51.50%	1.62 ± 1.71	1.34 ± 1.47	2.19 ± 2.29
Trouble staying asleep	60.48%	1.90 ± 1.67	1.47 ± 1.41	2.46 ± 2.20
Feeling irritable	32.34%	0.70 ± 1.11	0.51 ± 0.86	0.95 ± 1.48
Feeling sad	29.34%	0.60 ± 1.01	0.50 ± 0.86	0.92 ± 1.51
Feeling anxious	33.53%	0.68 ± 1.03	0.51 ± 0.80	0.99 ± 1.50

Prevalence refers to the prevalence of a certain symptom in this investigated population; frequency refers to the number of times a symptom occurred in the past week in that survey population, and the frequency, severity, and distress in the tables are represented by means