Table 1.
Baseline characteristics among 106 hemodialysis patients randomized to the high-protein (n = 55) versus low-protein (n = 51) hemodialysis meal groups
| High-protein hemodialysis meal | Low-protein hemodialysis meal | P-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % (n) | 52 (55) | 48 (51) | N/A |
| Sociodemographic and case-mix characteristics | |||
| Age (years), mean ± SD | 53 ± 15 | 57 ± 14 | 0.163 |
| Female (%) | 56 | 55 | 0.880 |
| Race (%) | |||
| White | 64 | 41 | 0.167 |
| Black | 27 | 41 | |
| Asian | 7 | 10 | |
| Pacific Islander | 2 | 6 | |
| Missing | 0 | 2 | |
| Hispanic ethnicity (%) | 60 | 41 | 0.053 |
| Married (%) | 40 | 39 | 0.934 |
| Primary insurance (%) | 0.842 | ||
| Medicare/Medicaid | 80 | 78 | |
| Other | 20 | 22 | |
| Diabetes (%) | 62 | 65 | 0.758 |
| Weight (kg), median (IQR) | 74.2 (63.9–86.7) | 73.9 (64.2– 91.4) | 0.830 |
| BMI (kg/m2), median (IQR) | 28.3 (24.4–31.5) | 27.1 (23.6–29.9) | 0.226 |
| Dialysis treatment characteristics | |||
| Access type (%) | 0.880 | ||
| AVF or AVG | 87 | 88 | |
| CVC | 13 | 12 | |
| Dialysis session time (min), median (IQR) | 211 (210–240) | 210 (195–240) | 0.261 |
| Ultrafiltration volume (L), median (IQR) | 2.4 (1.7–2.8) | 2.4 (1.9–2.7) | 0.809 |
| Laboratory test characteristics Median (IQR) | |||
| Serum albumin (g/dL) | 3.6 (3.5–3.8) | 3.7 (3.6–3.8) | 0.163 |
| Phosphorus (mg/dL) | 5.3 (4.4–6.8) | 4.9 (4.2–6.5) | 0.297 |
| Calcium (mg/dL) | 8.8 (8.2–9.2) | 8.8 (8.3–9.1) | 0.857 |
| PTH (pg/mL) | 358 (283–560) | 283 (138–466) | 0.061 |
| Alkaline phosphatase (U/L) | 89 (68–123) | 79 (63–109) | 0.159 |
| nPCR (g/kg/day) | 1.00 (0.84–1.18) | 1.05 (0.84–1.21) | 0.390 |
| Bicarbonate (mEq/L) | 23 (21–26) | 23 (21–25) | 0.358 |
| Potassium (mEq/L) | 5.0 (4.5–5.4) | 4.7 (4.5–5.3) | 0.317 |
| Serum creatinine (mg/dL) | 8.9 (6.7–10.6) | 9.0 (7.1–11.4) | 0.584 |
| Blood urea nitrogen (mg/dL) | 59 (47–68) | 54 (46–64) | 0.386 |
| Serum prealbumin (mg/dL) | 25 (21–31) | 26 (24–32) | 0.375 |
| spKt/V | 1.59 (1.48–1.87) | 1.56 (1.35–1.85) | 0.653 |
| URR | 75 (71–79) | 74 (68–79) | 0.338 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 11.2 (10.5–11.9) | 11.4 (10.8–12.0) | 0.479 |
| WBC (×109/L) | 6.3 (5.0–8.7) | 6.9 (5.4–8.2) | 0.805 |
| Platelet count (×109/L) | 210 (177–253) | 240 (186–279) | 0.159 |
| LDL (mg/dL) | 60 (43–77) | 67 (48–84) | 0.197 |
| HDL (mg/dL) | 32 (25–43) | 36 (29–48) | 0.277 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 98 (71–145) | 92 (70–121) | 0.527 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 3.84 (2.80–6.76) | 3.42 (2.55–4.91) | 0.195 |
| IL-6 (pg/mL) | 5.01 (3.13–12.17) | 3.21 (2.26–6.92) | 0.026 |
| Leptin (ng/mL) | 25.1 (6.6–54.2) | 26.3 (7.3–48.2) | 0.786 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 0.64 (0.19–1.38) | 0.37 (0.18–0.81) | 0.117 |
| Medications | |||
| Nonlanthanum phosphorus binders (%) | 46 | 49 | 0.757 |
| Cinacalcet (%) | 16 | 22 | 0.463 |
BMI, body mass index; AVF, arteriovenous fistula; AVG, arteriovenous graft; CVC, central venous catheter; PTH, parathyroid hormone; nPCR, normalized protein catabolic rate; spKt/V, single-pool Kt/V; URR, urea reduction ratio; WBC, white blood cell count; LDL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HDL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; IL-6, interleukin-6.
*P-value estimated using t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum or χ2 tests.