Inadequate dietary energy intake associates with higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in different groups of hemodialysis patients: A clinical observational study in multiple dialysis centers

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been established as a risk for cardiovascular diseases and mortality in hemodialysis patients. Energy intake (EI) is an important nutritional therapy for preventing MetS. We examined the association of self-reported dietary EI with metabolic abnormalities and MetS among hemodialysis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was carried out from September 2013 to April 2017 in seven hemodialysis centers. Data were collected from 228 hemodialysis patients with acceptable EI report, 20 years old and above, underwent three hemodialysis sessions a week for at least past 3 months. Dietary EI was evaluated by a three-day dietary record, and confirmed by 24-h dietary recall. Body compositions were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Biochemical data were analyzed using standard laboratory tests. The cut-off values of daily EI were 30 kcal/kg, and 35 kcal/kg for age ≥ 60 years and < 60 years, respectively. MetS was defined by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE-MetS), and Harmonizing Metabolic Syndrome (HMetS). Logistic regression models were utilized for examining the association between EI and MetS. Age, gender, physical activity, hemodialysis vintage, Charlson comorbidity index, high sensitive C-reactive protein, and interdialytic weight gains were adjusted in the multivariate analysis. Results: The prevalence of inadequate EI, AACE-MetS, and HMetS were 60.5%, 63.2%, and 53.9%, respectively. Inadequate EI was related to higher proportion of metabolic abnormalities and MetS (p < 0.05). Results of the multivariate analysis shows that inadequate EI was significantly linked with higher prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (OR = 2.42, p < 0.01), overweight/obese (OR = 6.70, p < 0.001), elevated waist circumference (OR = 8.17, p < 0.001), AACE-MetS (OR = 2.26, p < 0.01), and HMetS (OR = 3.52, p < 0.01). In subgroup anslysis, inadequate EI strongly associated with AACE-MetS in groups of non-hypertension (OR = 4.09, p = 0.004), and non-cardiovascular diseases (OR = 2.59, p = 0.012), and with HMetS in all sub-groups of hypertension (OR = 2.59~ 5.33, p < 0.05), diabetic group (OR = 8.33, p = 0.003), and non-cardiovascular diseases (OR = 3.79, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Inadequate EI and MetS prevalence was high. Energy intake strongly determined MetS in different groups of hemodialysis patients.