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


CONCLUSIONS
Prealbumin levels were an independent and sensitive predictor for mortality in incident PD patients, showing a good correlation with nutritional and inflammatory markers.
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Kyung Hee
KH
Lee
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Jang-Hee
JH
Cho
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Owen
O
Kwon
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Sang-Un
SU
Kim
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Ryang Hi
RH
Kim
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Young Wook
YW
Cho
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Hee-Yeon
HY
Jung
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Ji-Young
JY
Choi
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Chan-Duck
CD
Kim
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Yong-Lim
YL
Kim
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea; Clinical Research Center for End Stage Renal Disease, Daegu, Korea.
Sun-Hee
SH
Park
Inflammation; Nutrition; Peritoneal dialysis; Prealbumin
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