Nutritional Markers and Body Composition in Hemodialysis Patients

VALTUILLE, RODOLFO; CASOS, MARIA ELISA; FERNANDEZ, ELMER ANDRES; GUINSBURG, ADRIAN; MARELLI, CRISTINA

International Scholarly Research Notices

Hindawi

Año: 2015 vol. 2015 p. 1 - 7

The aims of this study were to analyse body composition, to detect the presence of undernutrition, and to establish a relationshipbetween undernutrition and the biological markers routinely used as indicators of nutritional status in hemodialysis (HD) patients(pts). We used a body composition monitor (BCM) that expresses body weight in terms of lean tissue mass (LTM) and fat tissuemass (FTM) independent of hydration status. From nine HD units, 934 pts were included. Undernutrition was defined as having2a lean tissue index (LTI = LTM/height ) below the 10th percentile of a reference population. Biochemical markers and parametersdelivered by BCM were used to compare low LTI and normal LTI groups. Undernutrition prevalence was 58.8% of the populationstudied. Low LTI pts were older, were significantly more frequently overhydrated, and had been on HD for a longer period of timethan the normal LTI group. FTI (FTI = FTM/ height 2) was significantly higher in low LTI pts and increased according to BMI. LTIwas not influenced by different BMI levels. Albumin and C-reactive protein correlated inversely (r = −0.28). However neither ofthem was statistically different when considering undernourished and normal LTI pts. Our BCM study was able to show a highprevalence of undernutrition, as expressed by low LTI. In our study, BMI and other common markers, such as albumin, failed topredict malnutrition as determined by BCM.