Dietary fiber intake, hyperkalemia link found in patients on maintenance hemodialysis
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Key takeaways:
- Overall, 38 patients had hyperkalemia before dialysis, researchers found.
- A daily intake of greater than 15.33 g was potentially beneficial in hyperkalemia prevention.
There may be a link between dietary fiber intake and hyperkalemia in patients on maintenance hemodialysis, according to a published cross-sectional study.
“Hyperkalemia is a common problem in [patients on maintenance hemodialysis] MHD and has always been a problem for clinicians,” Hui Li, MD, of the Lingcheng District People's Hospital in China, wrote with colleagues. They added, “In the past decades, excessive intake of foods rich in potassium is considered to be the cause of hyperkalemia. ... However, it is not clear whether the daily [dietary fiber] DF intake of MHD patients is related to their hyperkalemia. Analysis of the DF intake of MHD patients is of great significance to identify the causes of hyperkalemia in MHD patients and put forward suggestions for improvement.”
Researchers studied the effect of dietary fiber on hyperkalemia in 110 patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Patients were grouped by pre-dialysis serum potassium levels: a normal serum potassium group and a hyperkalemia group. Patients’ daily diets were logged with a 3-day dietary recording method, and researchers analyzed dietary nutrient intake.
Overall, 38 patients had hyperkalemia before dialysis, according to the study results. Researchers found no significant difference in sex, residual kidney function, BMI or administration history of potassium-lowering drugs between groups. There were also no differences in energy, fat, protein, calcium or phosphate intake.
Patients in the normal serum potassium group had higher carbohydrate intake, dietary fiber intake and potassium intake vs. those in the hyperkalemia group. Dietary fiber intake was an independent protective factor for hyperkalemia, with a daily intake of greater than 15.33 g being potentially beneficial in hyperkalemia prevention, the researchers found.
More patients in the normal serum potassium group used renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors and fewer had constipation vs. the hyperkalemia group.
“For MHD patients, taking more dietary fiber may be helpful to prevent hyperkalemia,” Li and colleagues wrote in the study. “Although our research seems to have reached the recommended intake of DF, the results based on observational research are not accurate. The significance of this study is to remind clinicians and clinical nutritionists to pay attention to the potential role of DF in preventing hyperkalemia in MHD patients.”
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