Background
: Depression is frequently observed during long-term hemodialysis of patients. Comp-lications occur in proportion to depression tendency which gives wrong influences of their prognosis. Family function is influenced by long-term hemodialysis and patients show severe declines in their family function due to stresses and depression during treatment. We carried out this study to estimat the depression tendency of HD patients and their family function, compared them with non-HD patients and searching for relations between depression tendency and family function of HD patients.

Methods : As the study group, we took 78 cases(male 54, female 24 cases) among respondents who had hemodialysis regularly at Artificial Hemodialysis Unit in Seongnam Central Hospital and InHa University and as a control group took 78 cases of patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine department. We compared two groups about depression tendency by B야 scores and family function by Family APGAR score trough interview and questionnaire survey consisted of 37 questions.

Results : Average BDI score in HD patients was 27.1 and 19.3 in non-HD patients. Average Family APGAR score of HD patients and non-HD patients were respectively 5.8 and 6.8 and there was a statistic significance between two groups. And there was a close correlation between Family APGAR score and depression tendency in non-HD patients.

Conclusion : Ratio of depression tendency was 66.7% in HD patients, significantly higher thatn non-HD patients. Depression tendency was high in women and higher in older than younger. Family APGAR score was lower in HD patients than non-HD patients. In both groups depression tendency was highest in severely dysfunctional families. And there was no close correlations between depression tendency and Family APGAR score in HD patients.