Background: In an effort to slow the deterioration of renal function, several authors have recommended in the diabetic stage renal disease with moderate renal impairment decreased protein intake to 0.7 or 0.3 g / kg / day associated with energy intake of at least 30 to 35 kcal / kg / day. However, in clinical practice this proved difficult to achieve without exposing patients to the risk of under nutrition.
Aim: To evaluate the effects of a protein restricted diet on the development of diabetic nephropathy and the nutritional status of diabetic patients with renal impairment at the stage of moderate renal impairment compared with those of a group of diabetics with the same characteristics put under basal diabetic diet.
Methods: Prospective study of 57 diabetic patients in moderate stage renal disease of middle age (32 ± 0.6 years) followed at the National Institute of Nutrition of Tunis in 2010. Our patients were separated into two groups (group A comprising 30 patients, put on diabetic diet basal and group B comprising 27 patients used in protein-deficient diet: 0.6 to 0.7 g / kg /d). We followed the evolution of certain parameters: glomerular filtration rate (GFR), serum albumin, albuminuria, nutritional risk index (NRI) and we analyzed dietary intake at D0, D90 and D180.
Results: Renal function in patients in group B improved as demonstrated by the trend towards higher GFR. It increased from day 0 to day 90 and at day 180. In parallel, there was a beneficial effect on albuminuria which was reduced from 380 ± 56 mg/24h on day 0, to 322 ± 50mg/24h at day J90 and 302 ± 16 mg/24h at day 180. In group A, the opposite phenomena occurred. The patients in Group B have also reduced their overall caloric intake to less than 1800 kcal / day making sure that the balance of their diet quality could no longer be assured the result has a tendency to under nutrition noted more frequently in the latter group (NRI0 = 97.90%, NRI 90= 90.10% , NRI180=90,0%). In the literature these results were found by several studies.
Conclusion: The protein-deficient diet (0.6 to 0.7 g/ kg /d) must be integrated into the overall care of diabetic renal insufficiency with moderate renal impairment but requires rigorous repeated dietary interviews and customized to avoid malnutrition can result.