Relationship between nutritional status and the glomerular filtration rate: results from the MDRD study.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the protein-energy nutritional status and renal function was assessed in 1785 clinically stable patients with moderate to advanced chronic renal failure who were evaluated during the baseline phase of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study. Their mean +/- SD glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was 39.8 +/- 21.1 mL/min/1.73 m2. METHODS: The GFR was determined by 121I-iothalamate clearance and was correlated with dietary and nutritional parameters estimated from diet records, biochemistry measurements, and anthropometry. RESULTS: The following parameters correlated directly with the GFR in both men and women: dietary protein intake estimated from the urea nitrogen appearance, dietary protein and energy intake estimated from dietary diaries, serum albumin, transferrin, percentage body fat, skinfold thickness, and urine creatinine excretion. Serum total cholesterol, actual and relative body weights, body mass index, and arm muscle area also correlated with the GFR in men. The relationships generally persisted after statistically controlling for reported efforts to restrict diets. Compared with patients with GFR > 37 mL/min/1.73 m2, the means of several nutritional parameters were significantly lower for GFR between 21 and 37 mL/min/1.73 m2, and lower still for GFRs under 21 mL/min/1.73 m2. In multivariable regression analyses, the association of GFR with several of the anthropometric and biochemical nutritional parameters was either attenuated or eliminated completely after controlling for protein and energy intakes, which were themselves strongly associated with many of the nutritional parameters. On the other hand, few patients showed evidence for actual protein-energy malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: These cross-sectional findings suggest that in patients with chronic renal disease, dietary protein and energy intakes and serum and anthropometric measures of protein-energy nutritional status progressively decline as the GFR decreases. The reduced protein and energy intakes, as GFR falls, may contribute to the decline in many of the nutritional measures.

Effect of dietary protein restriction on nutritional status in the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study.

The safety of dietary protein and phosphorous restriction was evaluated in the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study. In Study A, 585 patients with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 25 to 55 ml/min/1.73 m2 were randomly assigned to a usual-protein diet (1.3 g/kg/day) or a low-protein diet (0.58 g/kg/day). In Study B, 255 patients with a GFR of 13 to 24 ml/min/1.73 m2 were randomly assigned to the low-protein diet or a very-low-protein diet (0.28 g/kg/day), supplemented with a ketoacid-amino acid mixture (0.28 g/kg/day). The low-protein and very-low-protein diets were also low in phosphorus. Mean duration of follow-up was 2.2 years in both studies. Protein and energy intakes were lower in the low-protein and very-low-protein diet groups than in the usual-protein group. Two patients in Study B reached a "stop point" for malnutrition. There was no difference between randomized groups in the rates of death, first hospitalizations, or other "stop points" in either study. Mean values for various indices of nutritional status remained within the normal range during follow-up in each diet group. However, there were small but significant changes from baseline in some nutritional indices, and differences between the randomized groups in some of these changes. In the low-protein and very-low-protein diet groups, serum albumin rose, while serum transferrin, body wt, percent body fat, arm muscle area and urine creatinine excretion declined. Combining patients in both diet groups in each study, a lower achieved protein intake (from food and supplement) was not correlated with a higher rate of death, hospitalization or stop points, or with a progressive decline in any of the indices of nutritional status after controlling for baseline nutritional status and follow-up energy intake. These analyses suggest that the low-protein and very-low-protein diets used in the MDRD Study are safe for periods of two to three years. Nonetheless, both protein and energy intake declined and there were small but significant declines in various indices of nutritional status. These declines are of concern because of the adverse effect of protein calorie malnutrition in patients with end-stage renal disease. Physicians who prescribe low-protein diets must carefully monitor patients' protein and energy intake and nutritional status.

Nutrition intervention program of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study: a self-management approach.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study nutrition intervention program by determining the frequency of intervention strategies used by the dietitians and the usefulness of program components as rated by participants. DESIGN: Dietitians recorded which of 32 intervention strategies they used at each monthly visit. Participants rated the usefulness of 19 program components. SUBJECTS: 840 adults with renal insufficiency. INTERVENTION: Participants were assigned randomly to usual-, low-, or very-low-protein diet groups. Each eating pattern also specified a phosphorus intake goal. Each participant met monthly with a dietitian for an average of 26 months. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Analyses of variance and chi 2 analyses. RESULTS: Dietitians used the following intervention strategies most often in all groups: providing feedback based on self-monitoring and/or food records, reviewing adherence or biochemistry data, providing low-protein foods, and reviewing graphs of adherence progress. In general, the dietitians used feedback, modeling, and support strategies more often, and knowledge and skills strategies less often, with participants who had to make the greatest reductions in protein intake and those with more advanced disease. In all groups, the dietitians' use of knowledge and skills, feedback, and modeling strategies decreased over time (P < .001), whereas use of support strategies was maintained. The type and frequency of intervention strategies used by dietitians and the usefulness ratings of participants did not vary by educational level of the participant. Both self-monitoring and dietitian support were rated as "very useful" by 88% of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: Three features were central to the MDRD Study nutrition intervention program: feedback, particularly from self-monitoring and from measures of adherence; modeling, particularly by providing low-protein food products; and dietitian support. We recommend the self-management approach.

Factors associated with adherence to the dietary protein intervention in the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics and behaviors associated with adherence to dietary protein interventions among participants with chronic renal disease in the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study. DESIGN: Participants were categorized as consistent adherers or nonadherers on the basis of urinary urea nitrogen excretion and dietary protein intake data from self-reports. Psychosocial and behavioral factors were compared between groups. SUBJECTS: Subgroups of consistently adherent and non-adherent participants in the MDRD Study. SETTING: 15 clinical centers in the United States. INTERVENTION: In the nutrition intervention program, participants were assigned randomly to a usual-, low-, or very-low-protein diet group. Each eating pattern also specified a phosphorus goal. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Analysis of variance. RESULT: Psychosocial factors significantly related to adherence included participant knowledge, attitude, support, satisfaction, and self-perception of success. Behavioral strategies including participant self-monitoring of protein intake and the provision of feedback by the dietitian were also significantly related to adherence. APPLICATION: Nutrition interventions for patients with renal disease should focus on psychosocial factors and behavioral approaches. Such approaches can be successfully incorporated into treatment programs and will assist the dietitian in promoting adherence to usual-, low-, and very-low-protein eating patterns.