Abstract:Objective To analyze the relationship between nutritional status and intestinal flora distribution in elderly patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).Methods A total of 121 elderly patients who received MHD in our hospital from January 2022 to January 2025 were selected as the research subjects. The Modified Quantitative Subjective Global Assessment (MQSGA) was used to evaluate the patients' nutritional status, and the patients were divided into the normal nutrition group (n = 70) and the malnutrition group (n = 51) according to the evaluation results. Fecal samples of all patients were collected, and 16S rRNA sequencing technology and the Qiime software were used to analyze the α-diversity of intestinal flora [including Chao1 index, observed species (Sobs)index, Shannon index, and Simpson index]. Meanwhile, nutrition-related biochemical indicators [albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), transferrin (TRF), and hemoglobin (Hb) ] were detected in both groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the effect of intestinal flora α-diversity on malnutrition in elderly MHD patients, and Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between intestinal flora and nutritional indicators.Results The normal nutrition group had higher Chao1 index, Sobs index, Shannon index, and Simpson index than the malnutrition group (P < 0.05). The levels of ALB, PA, TRF, and Hb in the normal nutrition group were higher than those in the malnutrition group, with statistically significant differences (all P < 0.05). Multivariable general logistic regression analysis showed that lower Chao1 index [O^R = 0.098 (95% CI: 0.029, 0.331) ], lower Sobs index [O^R = 0.118 (95% CI: 0.033, 0.430) ], lower Shannon index [O^R = 0.330 (95% CI: 0.146, 0.747) ] and lower Simpson index [O^R = 0.135 (95% CI: 0.040, 0.463) ] were all risk factors for malnutrition in patients (all P < 0.05). The Chao1 index was positively correlated with ALB, PA, TRF, and Hb levels (r = 0.405, 0.461, 0.230, and 0.262, respectively; all P < 0.05). The Sobs index was also positively correlated with ALB, PA, TRF, and Hb levels (r = 0.393, 0.602, 0.394, and 0.244, respectively; all P < 0.05). Similarly, the Shannon index showed positive correlations with ALB, PA, TRF, and Hb levels (r = 0.181, 0.253, 0.280, and 0.193, respectively; all P < 0.05), and the Simpson index was positively correlated with ALB, PA, TRF, and Hb levels (r = 0.364, 0.403, 0.373, and 0.195, respectively; all P < 0.05).Conclusion Intestinal flora diversity is closely related to nutritional status, and the decrease in the α-diversity of intestinal flora is a risk factor for malnutrition in elderly patients undergoing MHD.