Assessment of Nutritional Status of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients Attending a Dialysis Centre in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Ronanki Mounika, Avvaru Krishna Veni, Janni Aswini, Ravada Venkatesh
Author(s)
1Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India. 2Professor and Head, Department of Community Medicine, Andhra Medical College, Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. 3Senior Resident, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India. 4Final year Postgraduate, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition is frequent in chronic kidney disease patients receiving hemodialysis and contributes to impaired functional status, reduced treatment tolerance and poorer clinical outcomes. Routine bedside nutritional assessment is therefore important in dialysis units. The objective is to describe the sociodemographic and clinical profile of CKD patients undergoing hemodialysis, identify common comorbidities, and assess nutritional status using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment tool. Material and Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the dialysis centre attached to Government General Hospital, Srikakulam, during March and April 2023. Fifty-six CKD patients registered for hemodialysis were included. Data on sociodemographic variables, comorbidities, disease duration, dialysis frequency, personal history and nutritional status were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. PG-SGA scoring, activity status and physical examination findings were used for nutritional classification. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were applied. Results: The mean age was 53.5 years, and most patients were males. Hypertension was the predominant comorbidity. Most patients had been undergoing dialysis for less than one year and received dialysis twice weekly. PG-SGA global assessment showed that 12.50% were well nourished, 83.92% had moderate malnutrition and 3.57% had severe malnutrition. Nutritional triage showed that 44.64% required nutritional intervention, while 41.07% required urgent intervention. Age above 50 years, occupational status and comorbidity burden were significantly associated with malnutrition. Conclusion: Malnutrition was highly prevalent among CKD patients undergoing hemodialysis. PG-SGA is a practical tool for early identification of nutritional risk in dialysis settings and supports timely nutrition-focused intervention.

Keywords: Chronic kidney disease; Hemodialysis; Malnutrition; Nutritional status; Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment; Protein-energy wasting.

Outline