Aim: The aim of the study was the subjective assessment of the quality of life (QoL) of 140 patients treated with dialysis (peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis). Background: Chronic kidney disease and the methods of its treatment play an important part in shaping the QoL of patients receiving dialysis. As a result, kidney failure causes many limitations in patients’ physical, mental, and social activities. Methods: The instrument to measure the QoL was the authors’ own questionnaire made on the basis of Kidney Disease and Quality of Life Short Form version 1.2 (KDQOL – SF 1.2) and their selection of areas influencing the perceived QoL of chronically ill patients. Results: The research showed that patients receiving peritoneal dialysis assessed their QoL in its different dimensions as much higher than patients receiving hemodialysis. The parameter having the biggest negative impact on the QoL of patients receiving hemodialysis was an impeded possibility to continue work or studies and a change of life plans. The will to live was more highly assessed by patients receiving peritoneal dialysis as compared to patients receiving hemodialysis. Conclusion: In order to improve the functioning of hemodialysis patients in a manner most similar to healthy persons, the renal replacement therapy should consider patients’ individual needs and expectations, ie, guarantee flexible hours of work or study and of receiving dialysis. In addition, patients treated with hemodialysis should receive psychological care, in particular those demonstrating emotional problems, in order to achieve better results in therapy and improve their QoL.

Malnutrition is a poor prognostic factor in cancer disease. In case of head and neck cancer, there are multiple disease symptoms and side effects of treatment that increase the risk of malnutrition. The aim of the study is to assess the association between nutritional status at the time of qualification for home enteral nutrition (HEN) and overall survival of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), and assessment usefulness of selected nutritional indices as prognostic factors. The retrospective survival analysis involved 157 patients with HNC referred to HEN between January 2018 and October 2021. The nutritional status assessment was performed at the qualification for HEN visit. We have analyzed results of body mass index (BMI), Nutritional Risk Index (NRI) for patients <65 years, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) for patients ≥65 years and malnutrition defined by Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM). The mean patient survival was 44.7 weeks and the median was 23.9 weeks. Patients with low NRI and GNRI score had a higher risk of death (NRI: p = 0.0229; GNRI: p = 0.371). NRI, GNRI, and malnutrition defined by GLIM were superior to BMI as prognostic markers for survival. Results suggest that the use of NRI, GNRI, and GLIM criteria could provide useful prognostic information. The longer survival since the qualifying visit for home enteral nutrition suggests that nutritional management could be initiated earlier.

Sarcopenia in the elderly population is a public health challenge, and there are few data on its prevalence in Europe. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of sarcopenia in the elderly Polish population and its association with the level of obesity and co-existing diseases. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study involving 823 men and 1177 women aged 65 years and older, randomly selected from the population living in the territory of the Republic of Poland between 2017 and 2020. We analyzed the results of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Risk of sarcopenia was assessed with the simple questionnaire to rapidly diagnose sarcopenia (SARC-F), and sarcopenic obesity risk was defined as the combination of anthropometry and SARC-F results. In addition, we collected disease data with an author questionnaire. The prevalence of risk of sarcopenia was 18.6% (22.3% in women and 13.2% in men), and its incidence significantly increased with age in both sexes. The risk of sarcopenic obesity was more common in women than in men, and it was higher in the older age group, except for sarcopenic obesity diagnosed by the WHR criteria. The group of elderly with concomitant diseases had a higher risk of developing sarcopenia, which emphasizes the need to monitor sarcopenia when concomitant diseases are diagnosed. In both groups, risk of sarcopenia was associated with motor and respiratory system diseases, type 2 diabetes, and neurological diseases. This study highlights that the risk of sarcopenia in the elderly population affects women to a greater extent than men. It is important to identify the elderly at risk of sarcopenia in routine clinical practice to develop long-term prevention strategies.

Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) present multiple symptoms that increase the risk of malnutrition. Nutritional care, including enteral nutrition (EN), plays a crucial role in the management of this group of patients. The aim of the study was to determine the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM)-based stages of malnutrition and the relationship with selected biochemical parameters during the home enteral nutrition (HEN) qualification visit of patients with HNC. The retrospective analysis involved 224 patients with HNC referred for HEN. The following parameters were evaluated: body mass index (BMI), percent weight loss, and laboratory tests (serum albumin, total serum protein, C-reactive protein (CRP), and total lymphocyte count (TLC)). Malnutrition was defined using GLIM-based criteria. The prevalence of malnutrition based on GLIM criteria was 93.75% (15.18% moderately malnourished, 78.57% severely malnourished). There was a positive correlation between malnutrition based on GLIM criteria, serum albumin, and CRP. In the model assessing the odds of severe malnutrition according to the criteria of GLIM, TLC and CRP had a statistically significant effect on the chance in the probability of qualifying a patient to the severe malnutrition group, but the strength of the results was weak. The prevalence of malnutrition in HNC patients enrolled to HEN is high and most of them are severely malnourished. This suggests that it is important to identify more efficiently patients with risk of malnutrition at an earlier stage. GLIM criteria for malnutrition can be easily applied in this group of patients, but the definition of inflammation criteria should be clarified.