Overweight rather than malnutrition is widely prevalent in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients seem to maintain a better nutrition status than do hemodialysis patients, and some develop overweight. The clinical relevance of overweight in PD is uncertain. We assessed nutrition status and evaluated the prevalence of overweight in PD patients, and we explored the association of overweight with demographic, clinical, and dialysis factors. The study group included 57 patients (31.5% men; 12.3% with diabetes; mean age: 49.5 +/- 14.9 years) on PD for 2.9 +/- 2.7 years. Nutrition status was assessed by subjective global assessment (SGA), body mass index (BMI), and a nutrition status score (NSS) based on biochemical and anthropometric measurements. By SGA, 70.2% of patients were classified as having a normal nutrition status; none had severe malnutrition. Based on the NSS, only 4 patients were identified as mildly-to-moderately malnourished. By BMI, 50.9% of the patients were overweight (BMI > or = 25 kg/m2). No relationship was found for BMI or NSS with dialysis time, Kt/V, residual renal function, or peritoneal transport. Similar results were obtained considering only overweight patients. Overweight patients had higher levels of serum albumin (p = 0.014), homocysteine (p = 0.003), and total-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (p = 0.048). Instead of malnutrition, overweight was highly prevalent in our PD patients. Overweight was not associated with demographic- or modality-related factors, nor with fast transport or markers of systemic inflammation.