Malnutrition is common in patients on hemodialysis (prevalence of 30% to 50%) and is associated with higher mortality. Lean body mass (LBM) assessment is an accurate way of assessing nutritional status. The dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan is a reliable method in assessing body compositions and LBM; however, it is expensive and largely inaccessible. Anthropometric skinfold thickness measurement (ASFM) is useful in assessing LBM. It is cheaper and accessible, but underutilized clinically. The subjective global score (SGA) is a well-established method of assessing nutritional status. All three methods of assessing nutritional status were compared. In this pilot observational study, there was a significant correlation between LBM% estimated by DEXA and ASFM (mean difference -1.46% [95% CI -4.09 to 1.18]; LOA -14.0 to 11.1). Nutritional status by SGA could only detect those severely malnourished when using LBM% by ASFM as comparison. Our study demonstrated that ASFM is a useful method of assessing LBM and nutritional status, which can be easily utilized clinically.
Keywords: DEXA; anthropometric measurements; lean body mass; nutritional status; subjective global analysis.
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