The impact of nutritional status on health-related quality of life in hemodialysis patients

Malnutrition is frequent in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Nutritional deficiencies may negatively impact quality of life (QOL). This study examines the utility of the Malnutrition-Inflammation Score (MIS) in detecting nutritional risk (NR) and assesses the correlation between nutritional status and QOL in dialysis patients upon starting a nutritional intervention program (NIP). One hundred and twenty patients were included in this cross-sectional study. The MIS was used to detect NR and the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL-SF) instrument version 1.2 was used to assess QOL. 62% of patients were found to be at NR (MIS > 5). Nutritional status was significantly correlated with all generic QOL sub-scales. On a multiple linear regression analysis, malnutrition showed the highest level of explanation in the Kidney Disease Summary Component which explained 28.9% of the variance; the Physical Component Summary which explained 33% of the variance; and the Mental Component Summary which explained 21.5% of the variance. Malnutrition was found to be the most significant predictor of impaired scores on the KDQOL-SF. The use of MIS to identify patients at NR and a nutritional assessment to detect malnutrition in its early stages are important given the effects a NIP can have on improving QOL in HD patients.