Nutritional counseling tailored to the patient's learning type and its impact on interdialytic weight gain in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Introduction: Interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) is a risk factor for cardiovascular complications and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Sodium and fluid intake are important modifiable risk factors for these outcomes, and the role of the nutritionist as educator is essential in this process. However, patient adherence is often low, representing a significant challenge. Recent recommendations suggest personalizing the education process, but there is limited data on how to effectively carry out this adaptation. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a personalized nutritional intervention based on learning style using the VARK tool with the goal of reducing IDWG in HD patients.

Objective: This was a randomized crossover clinical trial. Patients in the intervention group received individualized nutritional guidance based on their learning style, as determined by the VARK questionnaire. The control group received standard guidance without any personalization or educational materials.

Results: A total of 21 chronic HD patients participated in the study. On average, the baseline IDWG in the population was 2.61 ± 1.08 liters, and we did not observe any significant pattern of change in either IDWG (p = 0.55) or systolic blood pressure (p = 0.44) over the study period.

Conclusion: Tailored nutritional counseling based on the patient's learning style did not lead to an improvement in IDWG in our population.