Assessment of Nutritional Status Among ESRD Patients in Jordanian Hospitals
Objective
Our objective was to assess nutritional status and compare quality of treatment among hemodialysis patients in public and private hospitals in Jordan.
Design
We utilized a cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Our setting involved hospital hemodialysis units.
Patients
This study was undertaken in five large Jordanian hospitals between 2004 and 2005. One hundred and eighty participants diagnosed with end-stage renal failure (ESRD) were enrolled. These participants (91 women and 89 men) who underwent hemodialysis treatment were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. Data from participants who received hemodialysis treatment in public hospital settings were compared with equivalent data from participants treated in private hospital settings.
Main Outcome Measures
Subjective global assessment (SGA), anthropometry, and biochemical measurements were used as evaluative tools.
Results
In the anthropometric measurement of triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), we found a statistically significant difference (P < .05) between participants treated in the two hospital settings. In addition, approximately 62% of all participants, regardless of treatment site, were found to be moderately to severely malnourished. Anthropometric measurements showed some significant increase between prehemodialysis and posthemodialysis weight and body mass index in private hospitals; this was not unexpected. There were no statistically significant differences in the measured mean levels of eight different biochemical parameters, with the exception of plasma phosphorus and sodium levels.
Conclusions
The prevalence of malnutrition and the quality of treatment in our two groups of participants were similar.
∗Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Allied Health Sciences Faculty, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
†Faculty of Nursing, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
‡Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Moores Cancer Center, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California
§Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
Address reprint requests to Reema F. Tayyem, PhD, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Allied Health Sciences Faculty, Hashemite University, PO Box 150459, Zarqa 13115, Jordan.
This research was funded by Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
ABSTRACT