INTRODUCTION Protein-energy malnutrition affects a high percentage of patients with chronic kidney failure and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates. Factors that directly contribute to malnutrition in these patients are mainly alterations in protein-energy metabolism, hormonal derangements, infections, and a reduction in food ingestion because of anorexia, nausea and vomiting produced by uraemic toxicity. After beginning renal replacement therapy, patients usually find that most of the evident symptoms of uraemia abate or disappear altogether. As a result, their appetite improves and they begin to feel better. However, various studies show that the prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition in haemodialysis patients still remains high. In fact, 23−76% of patients undergoing haemodialysis generally suffer from malnutrition (1−3). In recent years, research on haemodialysis patients has pinpointed an association between signs of malnutrition, particularly a decrease in plasma albumin and an increase in morbidity and mortality (4, 5). Moreover, predictors of the low survival of these patients include atherosclerosis (aggravated by high blood pressure and smoking), oxidative stress, inflammation and malnutrition (6, 7), combined with a low body mass index (BMI), altered lipoprotein profiles and high lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) levels (8−11).The objective of this research study was to assess the nutritional state of the patients at a haemodialysis unit by evaluating biochemical parameters (total proteins, albumin, cholesterol and plasma transferrin) and anthropometric parameters of weight, height and BMI. The patients were monitored over a period of ten years in order to determine whether they suffered disorders that could be caused by a state of malnutrition directly related to the length of the haemodialysis treatment.
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