Nutritional status of haemodialysis patients: a French national cooperative study. French Study Group for Nutrition in Dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the severity and the prognosis value of undernutrition in haemodialysed patients, no large study is available as yet in Europe. Hence, this French National Cooperative Study aimed to determine the prevalence of undernutrition and its relationship to dialysis efficacy.

METHODS: Nutritional status was determined in 7123 patients (i.e. one-third of the French haemodialysis population) using body mass index (BMI), predialysis haemoglobin, albumin, pre-albumin, cholesterol, and also normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) and lean body mass (LBM) calculated from pre- and postdialysis urea and creatinine. Dialysis treatment was estimated from weekly dialysis time and KtV determination.

RESULTS: Dialysis time was 12.4+/-2.7 h/week and KtV 1.36+/-0.36. BMI was below 20 kg/m2 in 24% and the observed/expected LBM ratio below 90% in 62%. Albumin, pre-albumin and nPCR were below the high-risk thresholds of 35 g/l, 300 mg/l and 1g/kg/day in 20%, 36% and 35% of patients, respectively. Pre-albumin was the most representative nutritional parameter. Albumin, pre-albumin and LBM correlated with nPCR. A dialysis time above 12 h/week was associated with higher BMI, albumin, pre-albumin and LBM. LBM was higher in patients with a KtV value >1.1.

CONCLUSION: This study showed life-threatening undernutrition in 20-36% of the studied population, according to nutritional parameters. Protein intake (estimated by nPCR) and dialysis efficacy (estimated by dialysis time and KtV) appeared to be major determinants of nutritional status in this population.