We read with great interest the article by Serrano et al.1 They show that listening to live music during hemodialysis treatment has a positive effect on the lives of patients with chronic kidney disease. The clinical trial focused on evaluating descriptive variables, such as the etiology of kidney disease, hemodialysis treatment time, sex, age, vascular access by arteriovenous fistula or central venous catheter, mathematical expression Kt/V to measure the efficacy of hemodialysis treatment, consumption of psychotropic drugs and/or analgesic medication, serum hemoglobin (g/dl), serum albumin (g/dl), and mean arterial pressure (mmHg). A total of 90 patients participated in the clinical trial. They were organized into 2 groups. Researchers carried out a prospective, cluster-randomized trial. The intervention group was exposed to music during sessions and the control group received their regular therapy.

Studies show that anxiety and depression are psychological reactions that manifest in chronic kidney disease patients during hemodialysis treatment.2–7

Patients requiring dialysis may present with complications resulting from their use, as well as diet restrictions and limitations in their daily activities. This leads to a certain degree of stress. For this reason, we believe that the authors should have considered anxiety and depression among their descriptive variables and used psychological tests, such as the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the BECK Anxiety Inventory (BAI),8 as guides.

Anxiety and depression are the most frequent mental disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease requiring hemodialysis.2,4,6 We would also like to emphasize that physicians do not evaluate patients for anxiety disorders3 although these are associated with an increased risk of hospitalization and mortality.7 In addition, healthcare professionals experience the same depressive symptoms as their patient.5