Body Composition and Mortality Predictors in Hemodialysis Patients

To evaluate how different compartments of body composition can affect survival in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Multicenter longitudinal observational study of a cohort of patients in HD with 12 months of follow-up.

Patients from 34 Nephrocare dialysis units in Portugal were included.

A total of 697 patients on maintenance HD during 4 hours 3 days per week were enrolled.

Dry weight, presence of diabetes, body mass index (BMI), lean tissue index (LTI), fat tissue index (FTI), body cell mass index (BCMI), albumin and hydration status were recorded at baseline. In all patients, the assessment of body composition was carried out using the Body Composition Monitor (BCM; Fresenius Medical Care a Deutschland GmbH, Germany).

Survival during a 12-month period of follow-up.

Patient's mean (±standard deviation) age was 65.4 ± 14.3 years, and median (interquartile range) HD vintage was 41 (19-81) months. Patients who died during the study period, had higher age (P < .001), lower dry weight (P = .001), BMI (P < .001), albumin (P < .001), LTI (P = .015), and also lower BCMI (P = .046). Patients with diabetes (P = .045), BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2) (P < .001), albumin < 4.0 g/dL (P < .001), relative overhydration ≥ 15% (P = .001), low FTI (P = .019), and also those in the lowest tertile of BCMI (P = .022) displayed a significantly worse survival. In the Cox regression analysis, the overall mortality of patient was related to low FTI, relative overhydration, BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2), BCMI ≤ 5.2 kg/m(2), and albumin < 4.0 g/dL.

Several body composition parameters demonstrated to have an important role in predicting 1-year mortality in HD patients. Albumin, FTI, and BMI were useful predictors of mortality in these patients.