Mediterranean diet correlates with better nutrition, exercise in patients on hemodialysis
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Compared with Western diets and diets low in animal protein, the Mediterranean diet was associated with better nutritional intake and physical activity in patients on hemodialysis, according to data in the Journal of Renal Nutrition.
“In patients with [chronic kidney disease] CKD, a greater adherence to healthy dietary patterns has been associated with lower risk for disease progression and all-cause mortality. Despite that, in adults with CKD, not on dialysis, there is a recent recommendation suggesting the prescription of a Mediterranean diet pattern for improving lipid profiles, there is still no evidence to suggest a specific dietary pattern for HD patients and few studies have been published focusing on dietary patterns and health outcomes in this population,” Cristina Garagarza, PhD, from the nutrition department at Nephrocare in Portugal, and colleagues wrote. “The aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns in hemodialysis (HD) patients and analyze their relationship with nutritional status, physical activity and survival.”
In a longitudinal prospective multicenter study, researchers examined 582 patients on HD from 37 centers to determine their dietary patterns. Patients completed 12 months of follow-up, during which researchers measured their clinical parameters, dietary intake and physical activity.
Dietary intake was determined using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire in a face-to-face interview during HD treatment. Patients also answered an international physical activity questionnaire. Using principal component analyses, researchers identified dietary patterns among patients.
Three dietary patterns emerged as Mediterranean (33.5% of patients), Western (31.3% of patients) and low animal protein (35.2% of patients). Analyses revealed patients who adhered to the Mediterranean diet showed higher intake of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B12, B6, C and D, and folic acid. Additionally, consumers of a Mediterranean diet showed a higher adherence to moderate physical activity.
“With these results, we have shown that following a Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with benefits for HD patient’s health at the nutritional intake profile level and in lifestyle-related factors, such as a higher practice of moderate physical activity,” Garagarza and colleagues wrote. “Therefore, recommending hemodialysis patients to follow a ‘Mediterranean lifestyle’ instead of a Western or low animal protein diets would provide health benefits for this popultion.”
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