title: Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) Decreases the All-Cause Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Atherosclerosis, which causes cardiovascular disease, is a major cause of death in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an anti-hyperlipidemic agent, is known to have antioxidative or anti-inflammatory effects, resulting in improvements in atherosclerosis. In the present study, we examined whether EPA improves the all-cause mortality in patients receiving regular HD therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 176 patients treated with maintenance HD therapy and performed a longitudinal observational cohort study for three years. We divided the patients into two groups based on whether or not the received EPA treatment [EPA(+) and EPA(-), respectively]. The primary end-point was all-cause death. We also matched the two groups using propensity score matching and examined the effect of EPA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before matching, the all-cause mortality rates were 24.0% in the EPA(+) and 11.8% in the EPA(-) groups, which were significantly different (p=0.044). After propensity score matching, the EPA(+) group still showed a significantly better prognosis than the EPA(-) group (p=0.038). A multivariate analysis showed that EPA treatment significantly reduced the risk of all-cause mortality both before and after propensity score matching.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EPA treatment is independently associated with lower mortality in HD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kidney Center, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akiba
authors.forename: Kosaku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nitta
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002423:Cause of Death; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid