Correlation of skeletal muscle mass index with nutritional indexes in hemodialysis patients

  Objective  To investigate the relationship between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and nutritional indicators and its role in the diagnosis of malnutrition.

  Methods  A total of 84 maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)patients were enrolled and divided into low SMI group (n=26) and normal SMI group (n=58) according to SMI. The body composition data and biochemical indexes of the two groups were analyzed. Patients were evaluated by subjective global assessment (SGA).

  Results  Among 84 MHD patients, 28 were malnourished and 56 were in good nutritional state. There were 23 cases of malnutrition in the low SMI group and 5 cases in the normal SMI group. The incidence of malnutrition in the low SMI group was 88.46%, which was significantly higher than 8.62% in the normal SMI group (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that SMI was positively correlated with protein, soft lean mass (SLM), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body cell mass (BCM), basal metabolic rate (BMR), fat-free mass index (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the curve for the diagnosis of malnutrition by SMI was 0.9. SMI used to diagnose malnutrition had statistically significant difference (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  SMI is positively correlated with major nutritional indicators and can be used for the diagnosis of malnutrition.