title: Comparison of serum albumin, serum C-reactive protein, and pulse wave velocity as predictors of the 4-year mortality of chronic hemodialysis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although serum albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are known to be associated with the clinical outcome of hemodialysis (HD) patients, it is unknown which of these parameters are more predictive of the long-term mortality of such patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured biochemical parameters, including serum albumin and CRP, and the PWV of 202 patients on maintenance HD therapy and followed their course for 4 years, and 186 of the patients were enrolled in the current study analyses. We divided the 186 patients into three tertiles according to their serum albumin and CRP levels and PWV values, and conducted multivariate analyses to examine the impact of the tertiles on 4-year mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three (12.4%) patients died during the follow-up period, and the serum albumin of the group that died was significantly lower than in the group that survived, but the CRP levels and PWV were significantly higher in the group that died. The results of Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality in HD patients with higher CRP based on the results of Cox proportional hazards analyses; however, the serum albumin and PWV values were not associated with all-cause mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggest that serum CRP levels are a better mortality predictor than serum albumin or PWV values of chronic HD patients.
authors.affiliation: Kidney Center, Department of Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amemiya
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Kosaku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nitta
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein