To assess the nutritional status of patients on maintenance haemodialysis to determine the frequency and severity of malnutrition.
The cross-sectional study was conducted in November 2020, at the The Kidney Centre Post-Graduate Training Institute, Karachi, and comprised secondary data related to patients on maintenance haemodialysis which was collected from January to August 2016. A one-time subjective global assessment score was calculated based on the history and physical examinations. Data was analysed using SPSS 17.
Of the 150 patients, 84(56%) were male and 66(44%) were female. The overall mean age of study participants was 52.21±12.5 years. Hypertension was the most frequent comorbid 130(86.7%), and normal body mass index was noted in 58(38.7%). Overall, 96(64%) patients had mild or moderate malnourishment, and 54(36%) were well-nourished. Females were 2.6 times more likely to be malnourished (p=0.009), and duration >5 years on haemodialysis increased the risk of malnourishment by 12.5 times (p<0.001), while overweight patients had significantly less chance of being malnourished (p=0.004).
Malnutrition was found to be quite common in haemodialysis patients, which necessitates its regular assessment and monitoring.

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