Nutritional Impact on Cardiovascular Risk in Chronic Hemodialysed Patients – A Systematic Review

Protein-energy malnutrition is a frequent clinical condition in chronic hemodialysis patients (1). The causes of protein-energy malnutrition are: interaction between blood and dialyzer with subsequent activation of the complement, amino acids and peptides losses when undergoing hemodialysis, metabolic acidosis, chronic inflammation and anorexia (2). There are two types of protein-energy malnutrition. Type 1 protein-energy malnutrition is characterized by patients’ poor food intake. This occurs along with slow decrease of serum albumin and loss of muscle mass, the presence of normal levels of C-reactive protein and response to nutritional interventions. The second type of protein-energy malnutrition is characterized by an increased serum level of C-reactive protein and lower serum albumin level than in type 1, even with an optimal food intake. This type of protein-caloric malnutrition is strongly associated with chronic inflammation and does not respond to nutritional intervention (3).