Maki Yoshino

International Differences in Dialysis Mortality Reflect Background General Population Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Mortality

Existing national, racial, and ethnic differences in dialysis patient mortality rates largely are unexplained. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that mortality rates related to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in dialysis populations (DP) and in the background general populations (GP) are correlated. In a cross-sectional, multinational study, all-cause and ASCVD mortality rates were compared between GP and DP using the most recent data from the World Health Organization mortality database (67 countries; 1,571,852,000 population) and from national renal registries (26 countries; 623,900 population). Across GP of 67 countries (14,082,146 deaths), all-cause mortality rates (median 8.88 per 1000 population; range 1.93 to 15.40) were strongly related to ASCVD mortality rates (median 3.21; range 0.53 to 8.69), with Eastern European countries clustering in the upper and Southeast and East Asian countries in the lower rate ranges. Across DP (103,432 deaths), mortality rates from all causes (median 166.20; range 54.47 to 268.80) and from ASCVD (median 63.39 per 1000 population; range 21.52 to 162.40) were higher and strongly correlated. ASCVD mortality rates in DP and in the GP were significantly correlated; the relationship became even stronger after adjustment for age (R(2) = 0.56, P < 0.0001). A substantial portion of the variability in mortality rates that were observed across DP worldwide is attributable to the variability in background ASCVD mortality rates in the respective GP. Genetic and environmental factors may underlie these differences.

Periodontal disease adversely affects the survival of patients with end-stage renal disease

Periodontal disease is associated with cardiovascular disease and is thought to accelerate systemic atherosclerosis. Here we examined the relationship between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease mortality in outpatients on hemodialysis using a retrospective analysis of 168 adult patients in New York City and North Carolina. During 18 months of follow-up, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality were determined from a centralized dialysis registry. One hundred patients had mild or no periodontal disease but the remaining 68 had moderate-to-severe disease defined as 2 or more teeth with at least 6 mm of inter-proximal attachment loss. At baseline, the proportion of males was significantly lower in the moderate-to-severe group. Compared with mild or no periodontal disease, moderate-to-severe disease was significantly associated with death from cardiovascular causes. Adjustment for age, gender, center and dialysis vintage, smoking status, and history of diabetes mellitus or hypertension did not diminish the strength of this association. Our findings suggest a need for larger studies to confirm this connection, along with intervention trials to determine if treating periodontitis reduces cardiovascular disease mortality in dialysis patients.

Severe Periodontitis Is Associated with Low Serum Albumin among Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis Therapy

The relationship between periodontitis and two measures of systemic inflammation, serum albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP), were examined among patients who were receiving chronic outpatient hemodialysis. Adult patients at two locations, North Carolina and New York City, were evaluated by dentist examiners. Six sites per tooth (up to 32 teeth per patient) were examined. A periodontitis case was defined as > or = 60% of sites with attachment level > or = 4 mm. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association of periodontitis with low serum albumin, defined as < 3.5 mg/dl, and with high CRP, defined as > 3.0 mg/dl. A total of 154 patients completed the study. The mean age was 54.6 yr (SD 13.3), and average duration of dialysis was 4.0 yr (3 mo to 16 yr). Eighty-six (54.6%) were men, and 89 (58.2%) were black. Common causes of end-stage kidney disease were hypertension (12.3%), diabetes (22.1%), glomerulonephritis (7.1%), and other (58.4%). The average number of teeth was 20.3 (SD 8.4). Thirty-five (23%) patients were periodontitis cases. Severe periodontitis was associated with low serum albumin (odds ratio 8.20; 95% confidence interval 1.61 to 41.82; P = 0.01) compared with individuals without severe periodontitis disease after adjustment for age, gender, race, diabetes, hypertension, body mass index, smoking, study site, total cholesterol, serum calcium, serum phosphorus, and normalized protein catabolic rate. There was no observed association of severe periodontitis with CRP. Investigation of the potential contribution of periodontitis to serum albumin and possibly to morbidity and mortality among patients with end-stage kidney disease seems warranted.

Body Protein Index Based on Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Is a Useful New Marker Assessing Nutritional Status: Applications to Patients with Chronic Renal Failure on Maintenance Dialysis

BACKGROUND Evaluation and monitoring of nutritional status is a fundamental concept in providing nutritional care to patients with end-stage renal failure. There have been, however, few practically available indices assessing whole body protein stores of patients. METHODS We enrolled 448 end-stage renal disease patients, 394 on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and 54 on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (PD) in this study. 83 Age- and sex-matched subjects (controls) whose creatinine clearance was more than 70 ml/min and urinary protein excretion was less than 1.0 g/day were also recruited for comparison. To assess whole body somatic protein stores, we devised the body protein index (BPI). The volume of body protein mass was measured by multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis and then BPI was calculated as body protein mass (kg) divided by height in meters (m2). Based on BPI, we defined the nutritional status of the patients as normal if the value was within -10% of the mean value of control subjects, -10 to -14% as mild malnutrition, -15 to -19% as moderate malnutrition, and <-20% as severe malnutrition. RESULTS The required time for measurement was 5.2 +/- 1.3 min and coefficient of variation of measurements was 0.8 +/- 0.2%. Among men the mean BPI in both HD and PD patients was significantly lower than those of control subjects (4.25 +/- 0.37, 4.38 +/- 0.34 vs. 4.72 +/- 0.37 kg/m2, p < 0.001). In women, BPI was significantly lower in HD patients than in control subjects (3.65 +/- 0.34 vs. 4.00 +/- 0.34 kg/m2, p < 0.033), whereas only a nonsignificant lower tendency was found in PD patients (3.83 +/- 0.39 kg/m2, p = 0.067). There were no significant differences in BPI values between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects, both in men (4.26 +/- 0.41 vs. 4.25 +/- 0.36 kg/m2) and women (3.69 +/- 0.36 vs. 3.65 +/- 0.34 kg/m2). Based on BPI nutritional categories, 113 (28.7%) of all HD patients were classified as having mild malnutrition, 57 (14.5%) as having moderate malnutrition, 40 (10.1%) as having severe malnutrition, and 184 (46.7%) were classified as normal. The patients of longer dialysis history groups showed a tendency of lower BPI compared to those of shorter dialysis history groups (p < 0.05), although the ages of the patients of the two groups did not significantly differ. No correlations were found between BPI and serum albumin or transferrin concentrations. Only weak correlations were found with albumin in male and transferrin in female HD patients. CONCLUSION BPI calculated from measurement of multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis could evaluate whole body somatic protein stores, and is a potentially useful new marker assessing nutritional status in patients with chronic renal failure. Decreased body somatic protein stores, mainly due to muscle wasting, was prevalent in end-stage renal failure patients on maintenance dialysis.

Predialysis factors related to prognosis in type 2 diabetic patients on chronic dialysis in Japan

SUMMARY: We investigated to clarify the predialysis factors associated with prognosis in type 2 diabetic patients entering chronic dialysis. One hundred and twenty‐four type 2 diabetic patients who started chronic dialysis in our department between January 1992 and November 2000 were studied. the variables in the predialysis period and those at initiation of dialysis were collected and evaluated in association with prognosis after a mean follow up of 37 ± 23 months from initiation of dialysis by using Coxs proportional‐hazards model. the 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year survival rates after initiating chronic dialysis were 92.7, 74.6, and 56.5%, respectively. During follow up, 40 patients died. Univariate analysis demonstrated that serum albumin (Alb) levels, haemoglobin A1c, and no preparation for permanent vascular or peritoneal access at initiation of dialysis were significantly associated with prognosis. In multivariate analysis, Alb levels (hazard ratio, 2.09, per decrease of 1 g/dL; confidence interval, 1.05–4.19), and age (1.54, per decrease of 10 years; 1.06–2.22) at initiation of dialysis remained significant predictors of mortality. In conclusion, Alb levels and age at initiation of dialysis are associated with prognosis in type 2 diabetic patients on chronic dialysis. It should be elucidated whether improvement of Alb levels at initiation of dialysis would have a favourable influence on survival after diabetic patients with renal failure are entered into chronic dialysis.