[So doctor, what could I eat then?]

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Clinical Nutrition
• Public Health

Background:

• Strict dietary recommendations for advanced chronic kidney disease (ACKD) patients often diminish their quality of life.
• The justification for these restrictive diets and the potential for educational interventions to improve health-related quality of life (HRQL) require investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the necessity of stringent dietary restrictions in ACKD patients.
• To assess the impact of a tailored educational nutrition program on the HRQL of ACKD outpatients.

Main Methods:

• A single-center, randomized controlled trial involving 75 ACKD outpatients in Albacete.
• Nutritional status assessed using Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and Body Mass Index (BMI); HRQL measured with the SF-36 questionnaire.
• Intervention group received personalized nutritional education (individual, group, telephone); control group received standard care.

Main Results:

• The nutritional intervention group showed improvements in most SF-36 HRQL subscales, particularly mental and physical components, while the control group's scores worsened (p < 0.001).
• Malnutrition prevalence (SGA) was 20% in the control group and 29.3% in the intervention group, with a non-significant improvement in the intervention group.
• Body Mass Index (BMI) indicated overweight in both groups and did not change significantly during the study.

Conclusions:

• An educational nutrition program can significantly enhance the quality of life for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.
• Personalized dietary advice and support are crucial for improving HRQL in ACKD management.