Nutrition-related parameters of maintenance haemodialysis patients.

Background & aim: Maintaining good health in haemodialysis patients is a challenging task that helps to reduce morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of nutrition-related complications is uncertain in Sri Lankan maintenance haemodialysis population. This study was carried out as a baseline study to identify the common nutrition-related complications in maintenance haemodialysis patients.

Methods: A single-centre cross-sectional study was carried out on adult patients on maintenance haemodialysis in a tertiary care centre in the central part of Sri Lanka. Simple random sampling was used, and patients' clinical, anthropometric, body composition via bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), laboratory parameters and muscle power were assessed.

Results: We evaluated 114 patients, 87 (76.3%) were males, and the mean age was 52.6 (±12.3) years. Only 9 (7.9%) patients were underweight in the sample population, 77.2% had normal mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), 81.6% had high muscle mass percentage in BIA analysis, and all patients had normal mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC). But in 80.5% of patients hand grip power was lower than the cut off for sarcopenia according to EWGSOP2 recommendations. The prevalence of low serum albumin is 33.3% and 60.5% had anaemia. The majority had normocytic normochromic anaemia with high serum ferritin levels. Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency was 91.2% and electrolyte abnormalities were very common; 57.9% had hypocalcaemia, 61.4% had hyperphosphatemia and all patients had hyperkalaemia.

Conclusions: Muscle mass was preserved in most patients in this population, but the muscle power was significantly low, along with a high prevalence of hypoalbuminaemia, anaemia, vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, hypocalcaemia, hyperphospatemia and hyperkalaemia.