To investigate the dietary status of peritoneal dialysis patients (PD) and analyze the related factors of the malnutrition.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 130 PD patients who had been regularly followed up for over a month in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University from August 2016 to March 2018. Patients with peritonitis, inadequate dialysis, tumors, or other systemic diseases were excluded. A 3-day diet-review method was used to investigate the patients′ diet, for analyzing the daily intakes of protein, fat, carbohydrates, total calories, and electrolytes. And the correlation between the intakes of nutrients and the levels of serum phosphorus and serum albumin was analyzed, respectively.

Among the 130 PD patients, each patient had the average daily energy intake (DEI) of 29.07±9.07 kcal/(kg·d), and the average daily protein intake (DPI) of 0.77±0.26 g/(kg·d), of which the high-quality protein intake accounted for only 38%, and the energy-supply ratio of carbohydrates (including dialysate glucose) was 73.16%. The daily intake of phosphorus was 777.44±222.00 mg. The dietary phosphorus correlated positively with both the serum phosphorus level (r=0.352, P=0.000) and the dietary protein (r=0.817, P<0.001). The serum albumin level correlated positively with both DEI (r=0.300, P=0.001) and carbohydrates intakes (r=0.316, P<0.001), but did not correlate with DPI, fat intake, or prealbumin level. The average dietary intakes of potassium, calcium, and magnesium in PD patients were significantly lower than the recommended nutrients intakes (RNIs) for Chinese adults, while the intakes of phosphorus, sodium, and iron exceeded RNIs. Multivariate logistic regression model showed that advanced age (OR=1.071, P<0.001), insufficient dietary calorie intake (OR=0.986, P<0.001), and low ratio of high-quality protein (OR=0.871, P=0.025) were independent risk factors leading to the hypoproteinemia in the PD patients.

Unreasonable dietary structure was common in the PD patients. Advanced age, insufficient calorie intake, and low ratio of high-quality protein were independent risk factors for the hypoproteinemia in the PD patients.