Determinants of malnutrition among heart failure patients on follow up at Jimma University Specialized Hospital

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition and cachexia are serious consequences of numerous chronic diseases. Severe heart failure patients could have marked weight loss. Malnutrition in heart failure is independently associated with poor prognosis. Despite its implication, malnutrition and cachexia are not studied in Africa and Ethiopia. Hence, this study tried to identify factors which determine nutritional status among heart failure patients in an Ethiopian setup. . Objective: To determine factors affecting malnutrition among heart failure patients on follow up at Jimma University specialized hospital from November 2013 to June 2014. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess nutritional status by using anthropometric measurements and biochemical tests. Serum albumin was used to identify patients with malnutrition. Simple Random sampling was used as a sampling technique. Calculated sample size was 310. SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with malnutrition among heart failure patients Results: Mean age of the patients was 48.6 ±17.1 years. The commonest cause of heart failure was ischemic heart disease. Hypertension was the commonest comorbid disease. Forty four percent of patients had functional class II heart failure. Based on serum albumin, Eighty nine percent of patients were malnourished. Serum hemoglobin and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors treatment were the most important determinant factor affecting nutritional status of heart failure patients. Conclusions: The majority of patients were malnourished. Serum hemoglobin and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor treatment were found to be important in determining nutritional status of heart failure patients.