Kidney Res Clin Pract.  2016 Sep;35(3):169-175. 10.1016/j.krcp.2016.06.002.

Low prealbumin levels are independently associated with higher mortality in patients on peritoneal dialysis

• Lee KH
• Cho JH
• Kwon O
• Kim SU
• Kim RH
• Cho YW
• Jung HY
• Choi JY
• Kim CD
• Kim YL
• Park SH

• KMID: 2353460
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.krcp.2016.06.002

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Prealbumin, a sensitive marker for protein-energy status, is also known as an independent risk factor for mortality in hemodialysis patients. We investigated the impact of prealbumin on survival in incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.
METHODS
In total, 136 incident PD patients (mean age, 53.0 ± 15.8 years) between 2002 and 2007 were enrolled in the study. Laboratory data, dialysis adequacy, and nutritional parameters were assessed 3 months after PD initiation. Patients were classified into 2 groups according to prealbumin level: high prealbumin (≥ 40 mg/dL) and low prealbumin (< 40 mg/dL).
RESULTS
The patients in the low-prealbumin group were older and had more comorbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases compared with the patients in the high-prealbumin group. Mean subjective global assessment scores were lower, and the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were higher in the low-prealbumin group. Serum creatinine, albumin, and transferrin levels; percent lean body mass; and normalized protein catabolic rate were positively associated, whereas subjective global assessment scores and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were negatively associated with prealbumin concentration. During the median follow-up of 49 months, patients in the lower prealbumin group had a higher mortality rate. Multivariate analysis revealed that prealbumin < 40 mg/dL (hazard ratio, 2.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-4.64) was an independent risk factor for mortality. In receiver operating characteristic curves, the area under the curve of prealbumin for mortality was the largest among the parameters.
CONCLUSION
Prealbumin levels were an independent and sensitive predictor for mortality in incident PD patients, showing a good correlation with nutritional and inflammatory markers.

Keyword

Inflammation; Nutrition; Peritoneal dialysis; Prealbumin

MeSH Terms

C-Reactive Protein
Cardiovascular Diseases
Comorbidity
Creatinine
Dialysis
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Inflammation
Mortality*
Multivariate Analysis
Peritoneal Dialysis*
Prealbumin*
Renal Dialysis
Risk Factors
ROC Curve
Transferrin
C-Reactive Protein
Creatinine
Prealbumin
Transferrin