FRIDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Variability in hemoglobin (Hb) levels appears to be high in European chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis, but this variability does not seem to independently predict mortality risk, according to research published online Aug. 26 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Kai-Uwe Eckardt, M.D., of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, and colleagues evaluated Hb variability in 5,037 European hemodialysis patients over a period of two years to determine the predictors of high variability and the impact of high variability on all-cause and cardiovascular disease-related mortality.
The researchers found that variability was significantly higher among incident patients than among prevalent patients. Significant predictors of high variability included age, body mass index, cardiovascular disease history, serum albumin, dialysis vintage, Hb, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use, angiotensin receptor blocker use, use of erythropoiesis stimulating agents, dialysis access type and change, and hospitalization. Variability in Hb level itself did not appear predictive of mortality risk, but patients with Hb levels consistently below 11 g/dL had 2.34 times the risk of dying, and those with Hb that fluctuated between normal (11.0 to 12.5 g/dl) and less than 11 g/dL had 1.74 times the risk of dying.
"In conclusion, although Hb variability is common in European hemodialysis patients, it does not independently predict mortality," the authors write.
Several study authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical and/or medical device companies.
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