Antioxidant vitamins status in children and young adults undergoing dialysis: A single center study

Vitamin E and C are well-known antioxidant vitamins. Oxidative stress is common in chronic kidney diseases. We evaluated 43 dialysis subjects prospectively in a cross-sectional survey. Serum vitamin E concentration was checked in all subjects; 37 cases underwent blood sampling for measurement of serum vitamin C. The enrolled subjects consisted of 12 (27.9%) peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 25 (58.1%) hemodialysis (HD) patients. Six (13.9%) patients were switched from PD to HD or vice versa. Serum concentration of vitamin E was normal, low and high in 9 (20.9%), 31 (72%) and 3 (7.1%) patients, respectively. There were no significant differences regarding age, gender, modality and duration of dialysis, and characteristics of dialysis sessions, mean serum blood urea nitrogen, and albumin levels between vitamin E deficient cases with those with normal serum vitamin E concentration (P > 0.05 for all). The serum vitamin C levels were low in 5 (13.5%) and normal in 32 (86.5%) patients. vitamin C deficiency was more prevalent in HD versus continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients (P = 0.128). Mean serum vitamin C concentration was higher in patients who were supplemented by vitamin C compared with those who didn't receive the vitamin supplement (P = 0.043). Vitamin E deficiency was a prevalent finding and supplementary vitamin C 30-60 mg/day was sufficient to prevent deficiency. Regular assessments of serum vitamin E level may be needed in dialysis centers.