Urea to creatinine ratio: a forgotten marker of poor nutritional state in patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment.
BACKGROUND
Malnutrition is common in subjects undergoing hemodialysis and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Studies investigating factors associated with malnutrition and effect of various interventions to treat these patients are needed. We aimed to screen older and young patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis, for malnutrition, and seek its association with clinical factors including anxiety and depression and laboratory variables including urea/creatinine ratio (UCR).


METHODS
Duration of hemodialysis treatment, medications taken, anthropometric measurements and routine laboratory results were recorded. Mini nutritional assessment and Beck anxiety and Beck depression inventories were applied. Study variables between subjects with malnutrition, malnutrition risk and normal nutritional states were compared. Older and younger patients were also compared regarding malnutrition and laboratory results. Linear regression analysis was performed to seek independent factors associated with malnutrition score.


RESULTS
Clinical and laboratory data except for UCR were found to be similar among young and older patients. UCR increased, while albumin, body mass index and weight circumference decreased along with worse nutritional state. Low albumin level, body mass index and UCR and higher hemoglobin level and depression score were independent factors associated with malnutrition.


CONCLUSIONS
In addition to routinely used markers of malnutrition UCR may provide additional information regarding malnutrition in this population.
Geriatrics Unit, Şevket Yılmaz Training and Research Hospital , Bursa , Turkey .
Fatih
F
Tufan
Abdülmecit
A
Yıldız
Ibrahim
I
Dogan
Demet
D
Yıldız
Şeniz
Ş
Sevinir
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D001806:Blood Urea Nitrogen; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology; D006435:Renal Dialysis
D015415:Biomarkers; D003404:Creatinine
Anxiety; depression; elderly; hemodialysis; malnutrition; urea/creatinine ratio