The combination of malnutrition-inflammation and functional status limitations is associated with mortality in hemodialysis patients

The identification of malnutrition-inflammation-complex (MIC) and functional status (FS) is key to improving patient experience on hemodialysis (HD). We investigate the association of MIC and FS combinations with mortality in HD patients. We analyzed data from 5630 HD patients from 9 countries in DOPPS phases 4–5 (2009–2015) with a median follow-up of 23 [IQR 11, 31] months. MIC was defined as serum albumin 3 mg/L in Japan and > 10 mg/L elsewhere. FS score was defined as the sum of scores from the Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living and the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. We investigated the association between combinations of MIC (+/−) and FS (low [