Malnutrition in hemodialysis diabetic patients: Evaluation and prognostic influence

Malnutrition in hemodialysis diabetic patients: Evaluation and prognostic influence. This work aimed to evaluate the role of malnutrition in the increased mortality rate of hemodialysis diabetic patients from a French cooperative series. Body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, prealbumin, cholesterol, and pre-dialysis creatinine, normalized protein catabolic rate and lean body mass (LBM) were measured in 734 diabetic and 6389 non-diabetic patients (aged 63.4 ± 12.2 and 62.0 ± 15.9 years; 1.01 male to 1.40 female ratio). The outcome of 1610 of these patients, including 170 diabetics, was assessed during a 30-month follow-up. Diabetic as compared to non-diabetic patients showed a significant (P < 10-4) increased BMI (25.9 ± 5.2 vs. 23.1 ± 4.3) and cholesterol (5.5 ± 1.6 vs. 5.3 ± 1.5 mmol/L), and decreased albumin (37.8 ± 5.4 vs. 38.9 ± 5.3 g/L), prealbumin (317 ± 91 vs. 340 ± 94 mg/L), creatinine (711 ± 184 vs. 816 ± 217 μmol/L) and LBM (76 ± 18 vs. 87 ± 21%). Normalized protein catabolic rate was similar in the two groups (1.11 ± 0.31 vs. 1.13 ± 0.32 g/kg/L). One and two-year survival was 83.7 ± 2.9% and 65.5 ± 3.8% in diabetic patients versus 90.3 ± 0.8% and 79.9 ± 1.1% in non-diabetics (relative risk 1.26, P < 0.01). Independent predictors of survival were age, albumin and prealbumin in non-diabetics and only age in diabetics. Diabetic patients compared to non-diabetics were characterized by an increased incidence of protein malnutrition and decreased survival. However, the higher death risk associated with diabetes was not related to malnutrition.