Combination with Anthropometric Measurements and MQSGA to Assess Nutritional Status in Chinese Hemodialysis Population

AIMS To assess the nutritional status, combination with anthropometric measurements and modified quantitative subjective global assessment (MQSGA) was used in multi-center hemodialysis population in South China. METHODS A cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study was performed in 4 teaching hospitals in South China, dated from January 2010 to December 2011. Nutritional status was assessed with MQSGA and related anthropometric indexes. Serum albumin and transthyretin were also determined for nutritional assessment. RESULTS Eighty-two randomly selected hemodialysis patients participated in the nutritional assessment, of which 75 hemodialysis patients completed all assessments. The average age was 62.70 ± 14.21 years. The mean duration of hemodialysis was 3.29 ± 1.08 years. Of the included patients, 32% patients were well nourished, 60% were mild to moderately malnourished, and 8% were severely malnourished. Along with the malnutrition severity, the serum transthyretin significantly decreased. However, no obvious changes were found in serum albumin. The mean value (Mean ± SD; 25.78 ± 4.09 cm) of mid arm circumference (MAC) was negatively correlated with MQSGA (r = -0.365; P = 0.002). Body mass index (BMI) (Mean ± SD; 21.6 ± 3.1 kg/m²) was also significantly negatively correlated with MQSGA (r = -0.392; P = 0.001). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.664 and 0.726, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Malnutrition is very common in South China hemodialysis population. Both BMI and MAC were effective markers for assessing nutritional status.