[Hypoalbuminemia in dialysis. Is it a marker for malnutrition or inflammation?]

Abstract

Hypoalbuminemia in dialysis is a highly prevalent condition associated with morbidity and mortality. Hypoalbuminemia, although not synonymous of malnutrition, is highly related to it. Poor nutrient intake, frequently observed in uremia, may cause malnutrition and subsequently hypoalbuminemia. In addition, it has been recently reported that a systemic inflammatory response may participate in developing hypoalbuminemia in chronic renal failure. Uremia per se, or through mechanisms stimulated by the use of current dialysis membranes and/or solutions, seems to trigger the inflammatory process, remarkably associated with hypoalbuminemia. Infections, to which patients on dialysis are particularly predisposed, stimulate production of the inflammatory response as well. Other conditions non-associated to inflammatory response, such as the protein losses through dialysis, may cause and increase malnutrition. Overhydration, frequently present in patients with renal failure, on the one hand causes dilution of serum albumin concentrations, and on the other hand, is cause of onset and/or enhancement of congestive cardiac failure, which in turn may be associate with malnutrition. Patients with chronic renal failure develop hypoalbuminemia due to a complex setting of conditions, with systemic inflammatory response as a major cause; notwithstanding, other factors such as malnutrition and overhydration can also play a relevant role. Therefore, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches should be individualized.