Physical Fitness in Children With End-Stage Renal Disease

Medical advances have allowed the majority of children with ESRD to survive into adulthood. As a result, more attention is being focused on improving the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for children with ESRD. However, most pediatric ESRD HRQOL studies have highlighted on the psychosocial effects of ESRD, with less attention paid to the physical effects. A few studies have recently measured exercise capacity in children with ESRD in the last 5 years. This article reviews studies that detail the physical components of HRQOL as well as other studies that have started to document the exercise capacity of children with ESRD.

Key Words: Exercise, Children, End-stage renal disease, Health related quality of life