Effect of Whey Beverage Fortified with Vitamin E on Quality of Life in Hemodialysis Patients

Background: Whey protein can improve quality of life and vitamin E can reduce oxidative stress. Due to the reduced quality of life in hemodialysis patients, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of whey beverage fortified with vitamin E on quality of life in hemodialysis patients. Methods: Ninety two 17 to 65 years old patients who were on hemodialysis were randomly assigned to four groups of (i) 1 receiving whey beverage fortified with vitamin E, (ii) 2 receiving whey beverage, (iii) 3 receiving vitamin E, and (iv) 4 as the control group receiving no intervention. SF- 12 questionnaire was used for assessing quality of life in the participants. Results: Bodily pain score improved significantly in group 3 while, a significant decline was seen for bodily pain in control group. An improvement was seen in groups 1 and 2. Physical health showed a significant improvement in group 1. Considering social functioning scores, improvement in whey beverage and vitamin E groups was seen. An improvement of quality of life in whey beverage fortified with vitamin E was noticed. Conclusion: Whey protein and vitamin E were shown to reduce oxidative stress and their effect on neurotransmitters in brain such as serotonin and dopamine leads to improvement in quality of life in hemodialysis patients. Doing longer studies with questionnaires such as SF-36, may help precise investigation of whey protein and vitamin E effects on quality of life of hemodialysis patients