To Study the Effect of Vitamin D Deficiency on Morbidity and Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients with or without Protein-Energy Wasting

Vitamin D deficiency and protein-energy wasting (PEW) are highly prevalent in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and morbidity - mortality of MHD patients with or without PEW.

This study was conducted over 100 MHD patients with different nutritional status assessed by Malnutrition Inflammation Score (MIS), vitamin D deficiency (25-OH-Vit D₃ ≤ 30nmol/l) at I.G.I.M.S., Patna during a follow up period of 2 years (January 2010-December 2012). The predictive value of low vitamin D level and PEW well as their combined effect were evaluated using a multivariate COX regression model.

Vitamin D deficiency was frequent in MHD patients with or without PEW. It significantly increased the mortality rate in MHD patients (p<0.01) which was aggravated by concomitant PEW (p<0.001). The hospitalization rate, however was not influenced independently by nutritional status.

Vitamin D deficiency increases the mortality rate, but not the hospitalization rate of MHD patients, independently of nutritional status.