Abstract:

ABSTRACT  Objective：To investigate the significance of fat-free mass (FFM) on evaluation of the nutrition status and prognosis in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Methodology: Forty-five cases with MHD were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups: the higher FFM group (FFM-H group, n=20) and the lower FFM group (FFM-L group, n=25) according to the FFM higher or lower than the mean. 40 healthy adults were as the control group. The clinical features, biochemical examinations and inflammatory parameters were summarized. For the purpose of outcome analysis, MHD patients with a follow-up ≥12 months were included. Results:(1)Compared with the healthy adults, the MHD patients had lower levels of albumin and FFM （P<0.05）, and higher levels of C reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin - 6 (IL– 6) （P<0.05）; (2) Compared with the patients of FFM-H group, the patients of FFM-L group had lower albumin, and BMI, but higher CRP and IL-6; (3)The FFM was correlated significantly with albumin and BMI( r=0.421,0.608, P<0.01), and CRP and IL-6 ( r=-0.786, -0.485, P<0.01）; (4)The hospitalization（39.1%vs 26.3%） and mortality（13.0%vs 5.26%）were different between the FFM-L and the FFM-H（P<0.05）. Four deaths（8.8%）occurred during the follow-up period. Three cases were in FFM-L, and one was in FFM-H. For infection hospital days, the FFM-L had more days than the FFM-H（P<0.05）. Conclusion: The MHD patients mostly have malnutrition status. FFM can reflect the nutrition Status and is a useful 　parameter to evaluate the prognosis of MHD patients. 

Key words: bioelectic impedance anlysis , fat-free mass  , Maintenance Hemodialysis , hospitalization 　 mortality