Effect of diet consultation on serum phosphate in chronic hemodialysis patients with a Dutch or a migration background

Aging of the enlarging Dutch population with a migration background asks for insight in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases in this group. Therefore the dietetic department of the Erasmus Medical Center examined whether diet treatment of patients with chronic kidney diseases was equally effective in patients with a Dutch or a migration background.

45 hemodialysis patients (n=26 with a migration background) were retrospective included. The average serum phosphate of the monthly measurements over a period of six months and the change in serum phosphate after a diet consultation were compared between the groups.

The average serum phosphate in patients with a migration background was 1.56±0.45 mmol/l, and 1.37±0.37 mmol/l (p = 0,163) in patients with a Dutch background. Only in patients with an  average serum phosphate of >1.5 mmol/l (hyperfosfatemia) the serum phosphate changed after diet consultation. The average decline in this subgroup was 0.31±0.80 mmol/l versus a decline of 0.06±0.36 mmol/l in clients without a diet consultation (p = 0.007). This decline was only significant in the group of Dutch with a migration background (0.37±0.56 mmol/l, p = 0.005).

This retrospective study suggests comparable serum phosphate values in patients with a Dutch or a migration background. The results give no reason for adjustment of the current treatment regarding the ethnicity of the patient. This results should be confirmed in prospective study with a larger sample.

Keywords
Ethnicity, hemo dialysis, phosphate, diet consultation