Marcella Canelo2025-09-222025-09-222018-04-16https://dspace.ughe.org/handle/123456789/1009Introduction: Chronic Kidney Disease is a condition that affects individuals worldwide and Rwanda is no exception. Malnutrition is a significant issue among dialysis patients and dramatically increases risk of morbidity and mortality. Dialysis patients also often have abnormal potassium, phosphorus, calcium and albumin laboratory values. The problem is that the overall nutritional status of stage 5 chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis in Rwanda is unknown and the objective of this study was to determine the nutrition status of a cohort of patients on dialysis with Stage 5 CKD at select facilities in Kigali and Gisenyi. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, adults who had been on hemodialysis for more than 30 days were recruited from dialysis centers in Kigali and Gisenyi. Nutrition status was measured by performing a physical exam and interview known as the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), calculating body mass index (BMI), and collecting laboratory values for potassium, phosphorus, calcium and albumin. SGA scores categorized participants into A (nourished), B (moderately malnourished) or C (severely malnourished). BMI was categorized as underweight (<22 kg/m2), normal/overweight (22-29.9 kg/m2), and obese (>30. kg/m2). Laboratory values were categorized as high, normal or low. Results: 34 patients were assessed 19 (59.4%) of whom were males and 13 (40.6%) were females. Mean age for all was 52.4 years. 28% of participants were classified as moderately malnourished (SGA B) and 62.4% of participants were underweight (BMI <22 kg/m2). There was a correlation (p =0.0117) between moderate malnutrition and underweight. 69% of participants presented with high potassium (> 5.10meq/l, mean value 5.49 mEq/L), while the majority of participants were normal for phosphorus, calcium and albumin. There was no association between low albumin and moderate malnutrition (p=0.0687) and low albumin and underweight (p=0.6834). Conclusion: Malnutrition is prevalent among hemodialysis patients in Rwanda and there may be an increased risk of morbidity and mortality among patients due to low BMI scores. When creating nutrition recommendations for hemodialysis patients, potassium restriction should be emphasized. Additional research could help to draw further conclusions around malnutrition, laboratory values and dialysis in the region.enNutritionDialysisHealthcareKidney DiseaseMalnutritionChronic diseasesRwandatext::thesis