Home / Archives / Vol. 27 No. 4S (2024): November Issue / Research Article Impact of food behavior and nutritional intake on the health status of hemodialysis patients

Background: Adequate nutrition intake by hemodialysis patients is known to prevent complications and achieving better quality of life. This study was done to compare food behavior and nutritional intake between well-nourished and malnourished hemodialysis patients. Methods: The study included 94 patients, on hemodialysis for at least 2 months were randomly selected after getting their prior consent. The study is done with the help of validated questionnaire. The information’s were collected from case sheets and patient through direct interview. Results: Out of 94 selected hemodialysis patients 46.8% were well nourished, 50% were mild to moderately malnourished and 3.2% were severely malnourished. The study on the food behavior shows that there is a positive impact on health status of the hemodialysis patients based on the number of meals taken in a day and inclusion of food groups such as pulses, egg, meat, vegetables and fruits. The mean ± Standard deviation of energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate taken by the hemodialysis patients were 1386.72±353.13 kcal/day, 43.67±11.53 g/day, 32.85±9.11 g/day and 213.81±49.45 g/day. It is observed that there is a statistically significant difference in the health status of hemodialysis patients based on the intake of calories, fat and carbohydrate. The study shows no statistically significant difference among the three different health groups based on the consumption of protein. The vintage of Dialysis was also significantly associated with the nutritional status. Conclusion: The present study shows that there is a positive influence of food behavior and nutritional intake on hemodialysis patient’s health status.