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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nephrol.
Sec. Clinical Research in Nephrology
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneph.2024.1365809
This article is part of the Research Topic Early Detection Programs for Chronic Kidney Disease: Reducing Risk and Preventing Complications View all 4 articles

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Supplementation Alleviates Pruritus, Enhances Skin Moisture, and Mitigates Depression in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

Provisionally accepted
CHIANG TSAY-I CHIANG TSAY-I 1*Ya-ling Lin Ya-ling Lin 2Chia-Liang Wang Chia-Liang Wang 3
  • 1 Hungkuang University, Taichung, Taiwan
  • 2 Department of Nursing, Tajen University, Pingtung, Taiwan
  • 3 Department of Nephrology, Kuang-Tien General Hospital, Taichung , Taiwan, Taichung, Taiwan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of oral supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on circulating inflammatory factors, cardiometabolic parameters, skin moisturization, and the consequent symptoms of pruritus and depression in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 maintenance hemodialysis patients with severe pruritus symptoms completed this randomized, placebo-controlled study. Subjects of treatment group (n = 30) were instructed to consume 1000 mg fish oil (>900 mg EPA) and subjects of placebo group (n = 30) were instructed to consume 1000 mg soybean oil twice daily for 3 months. 5-D pruritus scoring, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale, skin moisture, serum creatinine, inflammatory factors, and cardiometabolic parameters were examined at baseline, and at the first, second, and third month postsupplementation. Results: A significantly decreased pruritus level was observed in the treatment group, whereas an opposite result was observed in the placebo group. Increased skin moisture levels on both the face and arms were observed in the treatment group, but not in the placebo group. Supplementation of EPA significantly decreased serum CRP and IL-6 levels. Significant decreases in total cholesterol (CHO), and triglycerides (TG) levels were observed; however, a decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level was observed in the treatment group. There was no change in plasma creatinine (CR) observed in both groups. A significantly decreased BDI score was observed, whereas the opposite result was observed in the placebo group. A correlational study showed that the severity of pruritus was significantly associated with skin moisture and serum CRP. The severity of pruritus was also positively correlated with the BDI score. Conclusion: Supplementation of EPA may provide multiple benefits including alleviating pruritus symptoms, addressing skin dryness, and mitigating depression in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

    Keywords: Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Uremic pruritus, Depression, Skin moisture, Xerosis

    Received: 05 Jan 2024; Accepted: 11 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 TSAY-I, Lin and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: CHIANG TSAY-I, Hungkuang University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.