Impact of Exercise on Fatigue in Patients Undergoing Dialysis in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a current public health problem associated with progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), cardiovascular disease, and increased mortality rates. The disease is progressive. It is estimated that there are about 20-25 patients with milder kidney damage for every patient on renal replacement therapy. Physical activity is one of the critical elements for the prevention of chronic diseases and exercises in CKD help to improve muscular strength, cardiorespiratory endurance, overall function, and quality of life. Fatigue can cause an inability to perform exercises and can affect physiological and psychological function. There is a need to analyze the effects of exercises on fatigue in outpatients undergoing dialysis in the Indian rural population. Methods This study was a randomized, controlled, interventional, single-center trial. The participants diagnosed with ESRD and who were on hemodialysis were randomly assigned to group A, the exercise group (EG), which had exercise training during dialysis, and group B, the control group (CG), which had no added exercises during dialysis or at home and followed a standard routine method. The outcome measure of fatigue was evaluated through the total Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) score at 0, 12, 24, and 36 weeks. The exercise was pilot tested and planned based on the guidelines and carried out during hemodialysis two days a week. It was followed up with a five-day home exercise program when the patients did not undergo dialysis. Results A total of 48 participants were chosen for the study, of which 30 participants completed 36 weeks of training, with exercise adherence of more than 60%. There was a statistically significant difference in FAS between the two groups (F (3, 84) = 10.513, P < 0.001) at a 95% confidence interval (P < 0.05). Post hoc comparisons between groups at baseline and at 12 weeks indicated that there was no significant difference in FAS (P = 0.271 and P = 0.08), but recorded a significant difference (P = 0.001) at 24 and 36 weeks, respectively, between the EG and CG. Conclusions The results indicate that the intradialytic exercise intervention was effective in reducing the level of fatigue in outpatients undergoing dialysis on a long-term exercise program.