Impact of Cafeteria Service Discontinuation at a Dialysis Facility on Medium-Term Nutritional Status of Elderly Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

Despite evident lifestyle changes due to measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, few reports focus on the effects of eating-behavior changes on the nutritional status of elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). Thus, we examined dry-weight reduction, the simplest indicator of malnutrition among patients undergoing dialysis, and its association with the discontinuation of cafeteria services at a dialysis facility as per COVID-19 measures. This retrospective study included elderly patients (aged ≥ 65 years) undergoing HD at the Nagasaki Renal Center between December 2020 and October 2021. We collected nutrition-related data and patient characteristics and evaluated the association between the service discontinuation and dry-weight reduction 10 months after the discontinuation using multivariable logistic regression. This study included 204 patients, 79 of which were cafeteria users. During the observation period, cafeteria users showed significant dry-weight reduction; however, this was not observed among non-users. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated a close association between dry-weight reduction and the service discontinuation. That is, the dietary services cancelation caused dry-weight reduction in patients who relied on the cafeteria. As elderly patients undergoing HD are vulnerable to changes in their eating environment, alternative nutritional management methods need to be considered.