Body Composition and Biochemical Markers of Nutrition in Non-dialysis-Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

The aim of this study was to examine the body composition in stages 3b to 5 of chronic kidney disease. There were 149 patients included in the study, with the mean age of 65.5 +/- 16.5 years, body mass index (BMI) of 29.4 +/- 5.6 kg/m(2), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 23.2 +/- 9.3/min/1.73m(2). They remained with dialysis. Body composition was measured using bioimpedance spectroscopy, and handgrip strength was measured with a hydraulic dynamometer. The main biochemical markers assessed consisted of serum protein, albumin, prealbumin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and interleukin (IL)-6 content. We found that 39% of patients were overweight and 41% were obese. Obesity was more prevalent in stage 3b of chronic kidney disease than in stages 4-5 in women and in patients older than 60 years of age. Thirty-eight percent of the study population were sarcopenic, of whom 20% presented a sarcopenic obesity phenotype. There were significant associations between lean tissue index (LTI) and serum prealbumin content and handgrip strength. Fat tissue index (FTI) was associated and hsCRP, serum protein, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio. There were inverse associations between FTI-LTI and LTI-age. We conclude that the prevalence of obesity in non-dialysis-dependent patients with chronic kidney disease is higher than that in the general population. Earlier stages of chronic kidney disease are associated with a higher prevalence of obesity.