title: Daily nutrient intake represents a modifiable determinant of nutritional status in chronic haemodialysis patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In maintenance haemodialysis patients, daily food intake is changeable; however, its relationship with nutritional status is unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the isolated, long-term effect of daily nutrient intake on nutritional status in haemodialysis patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a prospective 1-year controlled study in 27 chronic haemodialysis patients, without recognized risk factors for malnutrition. Each day for 1 week, four times in the year, we measured protein nitrogen appearance, and assessed dietary protein (DPI) and energy (DEI) intake from dietary diaries. We compared the nutritional outcome of patients spontaneously reducing nutrient intake below the threshold of 0.8 g/kg body weight/day for DPI and 25 kcal/kg body weight/day for DEI during the week (LOW, n = 8), with controls at adequate nutrient intake (CON, n = 19). An interventional 6-month study was then carried out in LOW to verify the cause-effect relationship.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients showed a day-by-day reduction of whole nutrient intake during interdialytic period, which was mostly relevant in the third interdialytic day (L3). During the 1-year study, even in the presence of adequate dialysis dose and normal inflammatory indexes, body weight (68.0 +/- 5.5 to 65.8 +/- 5.9 kg), serum albumin (3.96 +/- 0.07 to 3.66 +/- 0.06 g/dl) and creatinine (9.2 +/- 1.1 to 8.1 +/- 0.7 mg/dl) significantly decreased in LOW but not in CON. Diaries evidenced in LOW a reduced number of meals at L3 that was explained by the fear of excessive interdialytic weight gain. During the interventional study, daily DPI and DEI increased at L3; this was associated with a significant increment of body weight, and serum albumin and creatinine levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In maintenance haemodialysis patients the persistent, marked reduction of daily nutrient intake, even if limited to a single day of the week, is an independent determinant of reversible impairment of nutritional status.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology and Dialysis, Country Hospital in Polla (SA), Ariano Irpino (AV) and Solofra (AV) and Second University of Naples, Italy. vincenzo.bellizzi@tin.it
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bellizzi
authors.forename: Biagio R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Di Iorio
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Terracciano
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Minutolo
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iodice
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Nicola
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Conte
mesh_terms: D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011446:Prospective Studies; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*