Cumulative Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Nationwide Inception Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate long-term cumulative risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This nationwide population-based inception cohort study included 421,429 patients with type 2 diabetes diagnosed in 1990-2011; patients were followed until the end of 2013. Data linkage between several national health care registers in Finland, covering 100% of the population, enabled the inclusion of almost all inhabitants who started taking diabetes medication or were hospitalized for diabetes. Cumulative risk of ESRD and hazard ratios [HR] for ESRD and death were estimated according to age, sex, and time period of diabetes diagnosis. RESULTS: Among 421,429 patients with type 2 diabetes, 1,516 developed ESRD and 150,524 died during 3,458,797 patient-years of follow-up. Cumulative risk of ESRD was 0.29% at 10 years and 0.74% at 20 years from diagnosis of diabetes. Risk was higher among men than among women (HR 1.93 [95% CI 1.72-2.16]), decreased with older age at diagnosis (HR 0.70 [95% CI 0.60-0.81] for age 60-69 vs. 40-49 years), and was lower for those diagnosed in 2000-2011 than in 1990-1994 (HR 0.72 [95% CI 0.63-0.81]). Patients diagnosed with diabetes in 2000-2011 had lower risk of death during follow-up than those diagnosed in 1990-1994 (HR 0.64 [95% CI 0.63-0.65]). CONCLUSIONS: Cumulative risk of ESRD is minimal among patients with type 2 diabetes compared with their risk of death. Patients diagnosed with diabetes at an older age have a lower risk of ESRD due to higher competing mortality.

Type 2 diabetic patients on renal replacement therapy: Probability to receive renal transplantation and survival after transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients on renal replacement therapy (RRT) seldom receive a kidney transplant, which is partly due to age and comorbidities. Adjusting for case mix, we investigated whether T2DM patients have equal opportunity for renal transplantation compared to other patients on dialysis, and whether survival after transplantation is comparable. METHODS: Patients who entered RRT in Finland in 2000-2010 (n = 5419) were identified from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases and followed until the end of 2012. Of these, 20% had T2DM, 14% type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and 66% other than diabetes as the cause of ESRD. Uni-/multivariate survival analysis techniques were employed to assess the probability of kidney transplantation after the start of dialysis and survival after transplantation. RESULTS: T2DM patients had a relative probability of renal transplantation of 0.18 (95% CI 0.15-0.22, P<0.001) compared to T1DM patients: this increased to 0.51 (95% CI 0.36-0.72, P<0.001) after adjustment for case mix (age, gender, laboratory values and comorbidities). When T2DM patients were compared to non-diabetic patients, the corresponding relative probabilities were 0.25 (95% CI 0.20-0.30, P<0.001) and 0.59 (95% CI 0.43-0.83, P = 0.002). After renal transplantation when adjusted for age and gender, relative risk of death was 1.25 (95% CI 0.64-2.44, P = 0.518) for T1DM patients and 0.72 (0.43-1.22, P = 0.227) for other patients compared to T2DM patients. CONCLUSIONS: T2DM patients had a considerably lower probability of receiving a kidney transplant, which could not be fully explained by differences in the patient characteristics. Survival within 5 years after transplantation is comparably good in T2DM patients.

Factors associating with differences in the incidence of renal replacement therapy among elderly: data from the ERA-EDTA Registry.

Background: The incidence of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the general population ≥75 years of age varies considerably between countries and regions in Europe. Our aim was to study characteristics and survival of elderly RRT patients and to find explanations for differences in RRT incidence. Methods: Patients ≥75 years of age at the onset of RRT in 2010-2013 from 29 national or regional registries providing data to the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry were included. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to assess variation in patient characteristics and linear regression was used to study the association between RRT incidence and various factors. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression were employed for survival analyses. Results: The mean annual incidence of RRT in the age group ≥75 years of age ranged from 157 to 924 per million age-related population. The median age at the start of RRT was higher and comorbidities were less common in areas with higher RRT incidence, but overall the association between patient characteristics and RRT incidence was weak. The unadjusted survival was lower in high-incidence areas due to an older age at onset of RRT, but the adjusted survival was similar [relative risk 1.00 (95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.03)] in patients from low- and high-incidence areas. Conclusions: Variation in the incidence of RRT among the elderly across European countries and regions is remarkable and could not be explained by the available data. However, the survival of patients in low- and high-incidence areas was remarkably similar.

Incidence of End-Stage Renal Disease in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among patients with type 1 diabetes has changed over time and further how the risk is affected by age, sex, and time period of diagnosis of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A cohort including all patients <30 years old diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Finland in 1965-2011 was followed until start of renal replacement therapy, death, or end of follow-up at the end of 2013. Altogether, 29,906 patients were included. The main outcome was cumulative risk of ESRD, accounting for death as a competing risk. RESULTS: The patients were followed up for a median of 20 years. During 616,403 patient-years, 1,543 ESRD cases and 4,185 deaths were recorded. The cumulative risk of ESRD was 2.2% after 20 years and 7.0% after 30 years from the diabetes diagnosis. The relative risk of ESRD was 0.13 (95% CI 0.08-0.22) among patients diagnosed in 1995-2011 compared with those diagnosed in 1965-1979. Patients <5 years old at the time of diagnosis had the lowest risk of ESRD after diagnosis. With the cumulative risk of ESRD estimated from time of birth, the patients aged 5-9 years at diabetes diagnosis were at highest risk. CONCLUSIONS: The cumulative risk of ESRD has decreased markedly during the past five decades. This highlights the importance of modern treatment of diabetes and diabetic nephropathy.

One- and 2-Year Mortality Prediction for Patients Starting Chronic Dialysis.

INTRODUCTION: Mortality risk of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is highly elevated. Methods to estimate individual mortality risk are needed to provide individualized care and manage expanding ESRD populations. Many mortality prediction models exist but have shown deficiencies in model development (data comprehensiveness, validation) and in practicality. Therefore, our aim was to design 2 easy-to-apply prediction models for 1- and 2-year all-cause mortality in patients starting long-term renal replacement therapy (RRT). METHODS: We used data from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases with complete national coverage of RRT patients. Model training group included all incident adult patients who started long-term dialysis in Finland in 2000 to 2008 (n = 4335). The external validation cohort consisted of those who entered dialysis in 2009 to 2012 (n = 1768). Logistic regression with stepwise variable selection was used for model building. RESULTS: We developed 2 prognostic models, both of which only included 6 to 7 variables (age at RRT start, ESRD diagnosis, albumin, phosphorus, C-reactive protein, heart failure, and peripheral vascular disease) and showed sufficient discrimination (c-statistic 0.77 and 0.74 for 1- and 2-year mortality, respectively). Due to a significantly lower mortality in the newer cohort, the models, to a degree, overestimated mortality risk. DISCUSSION: Mortality prediction algorithms could be more widely implemented into management of ESRD patients. The presented models are practical with only a limited number of variables and fairly good performance.

Biochemical variables and survival of patients with type 1 diabetes on renal replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is one of the most serious complications of type 1 diabetes, but scarcely studied. Our aim was to estimate the association between biochemical variables and survival among these patients. METHODS: This was an incident cohort study of patients with type 1 diabetes entering chronic renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Finland 2000-2011 (n = 834). Biochemical variables were measured before the initiation of RRT. Adjusted relative risk of death according to biochemical variables was estimated by Cox regression. RESULTS: When adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and initial treatment modality of RRT, the most important predictors of death were low creatinine and albumin and high C-reactive protein. CONCLUSION: Among type 1 diabetes patients entering chronic RRT, biochemical variables independently associated with survival are creatinine, albumin and C-reactive protein. They reflect the nutritional status, proteinuria, liver function, and ongoing inflammatory process. Treatment of these might improve survival.

Pretransplant dialysis duration and risk of death after kidney transplantation in the current era.

BACKGROUND: Although longer pretransplant dialysis has been associated with poor kidney transplant outcome, no data about this association exist from the current era or from Europe. We studied the association of pretransplant dialysis duration on outcomes after kidney transplantation across two different time periods. METHODS: All recipients of first kidney transplantation between 1990 and 2010 in Finland were included (N=3,105) in this observational follow-up study of an inception cohort. The association of the duration of pretransplant dialysis with patient and graft survival after transplantation was analyzed with multivariable Cox regression and competing risk analyses. The association of pretransplant dialysis duration with the risk of specific causes of death (cardiovascular, infectious, or other) was analyzed using competing risk analysis. RESULTS: Longer duration of pretransplant dialysis was an independent risk factor for patient death after transplantation (risk ratio [RR] 1.14 per 1-year increase) in the whole study population, but not for graft loss. Risk of death was increased in patients with greater than 12 months of pretransplant dialysis. After further adjustment in patients transplanted in 2000 to 2010, longer duration of dialysis remained an independent risk factor (RR 1.23 per 1-year increase). Longer duration of dialysis was an independent predictor of death resulting from cardiovascular diseases (RR 1.14 per 1-year increase), but not for other causes. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of death associated with longer duration of dialysis has not decreased over time, but remains an independent predictor of patient death after kidney transplantation because of increased risk of death resulting from cardiovascular diseases.

Medication among patients with type 1 diabetes and predialytic renal disease.

AIMS: To examine use and changes of medication in the three years before start of chronic renal replacement therapy (RRT) among patients with type 1 diabetes, and the association between predialytic medication and survival on RRT. METHODS: We recorded medication of 496 patients with type 1 diabetes before and after start of RRT in 2000-2006 and followed up until death or end of 2009. Data were retrieved from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases and from the FinDM diabetes database. We evaluated the use of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockers, calcium channel blockers, ß-blockers, statins, vitamin D, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, and phosphate binders over three years. The association between predialytic medication and survival was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: Medication increased markedly with progressing renal insufficiency. Almost 70% of the patients used calcium channel blockers and ß-blockers before initiating RRT. Use of calcium channel blockers (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.53-0.95) and vitamin D (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.52-0.94) at start of RRT were associated with better survival when adjusted for age and sex, but after further adjustment the association lost statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Among type 1 diabetes patients in the predialysis phase, use of medication is abundant. Use of medication appears to keep patients at an equal survival level to those without the same medication. However, due to the observational nature of our study, conclusions regarding the effect of medication on survival must be made with caution.

Modality of chronic renal replacement therapy and survival--a complete cohort from Finland, 2000-2009.

BACKGROUND: Studies on dialysis modality and survival have shown conflicting results, mostly due to insufficient and varying control of confounding factors. Using comprehensive data on a well-defined patient cohort, we therefore investigated the association of dialysis modality with survival on chronic renal replacement therapy (RRT) and whether this association varies between subgroups of patients. METHODS: Survival analyses included all adult patients entering chronic RRT in Finland between 2000 and 2009 and used information obtained from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases and the Finnish Kidney Transplant Registry. In our primary intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, we calculated relative risk of death according to dialysis modality on Day 91 from RRT start, comparing peritoneal dialysis (PD) to haemodialysis (HD). Relative risks were adjusted for putative confounders. Interactions between treatment groups and other variables were estimated. RESULTS: Of the total 4463 patients, 42% died during the 10 years of follow-up. Median survival time was 5.2 years. In unadjusted ITT analysis, relative risk of death of PD patients was 0.65 (95% CI 0.58-0.73, P < 0.001) compared with HD patients. With adjustment for 26 variables, the corresponding relative risk of death was 1.07 (95% CI 0.94-1.22, P = 0.33). When censoring at time of kidney transplantation, the result was similar with a relative risk of death of 1.09 (95% CI 0.95-1.25, P = 0.24) on PD compared with HD. CONCLUSIONS: PD is associated with several factors generally related to good prognosis. After comprehensive adjustment for putative confounding factors with the ITT analysis approach, we found no significant difference in survival between PD and HD patients.

Effect of vascular comorbidities on survival of type 2 diabetes patients on renal replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is an important predictor of mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease. The aim of this study was to determine how various vascular comorbidities such as coronary heart disease (CHD), peripheral vascular disease (PVD) or cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) affect survival of type 2 diabetic patients on renal replacement therapy (RRT). METHODS: Patients who entered RRT because of type 2 diabetes in 2000-2008 (n = 877) were identified within the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases. The patients were followed up until death or end of follow-up. Survival probabilities were calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Multivariate modeling was performed using Cox regression. RESULTS: 41% of the patients had CHD, 27% PVD and 16% CeVD at the start of RRT. Patients with PVD had a 1.9-fold (95% CI 1.6-2.3) risk of death compared to those without PVD when adjusting for age and gender, while patients with CHD had a 1.5-fold (95% CI 1.2-1.8) and those with CeVD a 1.4-fold (95% CI 1.1-1.8) risk compared to those without these diseases. The hazard ratio (HR) for death was highest in patients with the combination of PVD and either CHD (HR 2.8, 95% CI 2.1-3.8) or CeVD (HR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.2) as compared to patients without any vascular comorbidities. CONCLUSION: PVD is the vascular comorbidity that increases risk of death the most among patients with type 2 diabetes starting RRT. Prevention of PVD in this patient group would merit further studies.

New primary renal diagnosis codes for the ERA-EDTA.

The European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) Registry has produced a new set of primary renal diagnosis (PRD) codes that are intended for use by affiliated registries. It is designed specifically for use in renal centres and registries but is aligned with international coding standards supported by the WHO (International Classification of Diseases) and the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (SNOMED Clinical Terms). It is available as supplementary material to this paper and free on the internet for non-commercial, clinical, quality improvement and research use, and by agreement with the ERA-EDTA Registry for use by commercial organizations. Conversion between the old and the new PRD codes is possible. The new codes are very flexible and will be actively managed to keep them up-to-date and to ensure that renal medicine can remain at the forefront of the electronic revolution in medicine, epidemiology research and the use of decision support systems to improve the care of patients.

Employment of patients receiving maintenance dialysis and after kidney transplant: a cross-sectional study from Finland.

BACKGROUND: Associations between mode of renal replacement therapy and employment rate have not been well characterized. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional registry analysis. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: The employment status of all prevalent 15- to 64-year-old dialysis and kidney transplant patients in Finland at the end of 2007 (N = 2,637) was analyzed by combining data from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases with individual-level employment statistics of the Finnish government. PREDICTOR: Prevalence rate ratios (PRRs) of employment according to treatment modality with adjustment for age, sex, cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), duration of ESRD, and comorbid conditions were estimated using Cox regression with a constant time at risk. OUTCOME: Employment status of patients on dialysis therapy or after transplant. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical data were collected from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases, and employment data were acquired from Statistics Finland. RESULTS: 19% of hemodialysis patients, 31% of peritoneal dialysis patients, and 40% of patients with a functioning transplant were employed; the overall employment rate for the Finnish population aged 15-64 years is 67%. Home hemodialysis patients and those treated with automated peritoneal dialysis had employment rates of 39% and 44%, respectively. In adjusted analysis, patients on home hemodialysis therapy (PRR, 1.87), on automated peritoneal dialysis therapy (PRR, 2.14), or with a kidney transplant (PRR, 2.30) had higher probabilities of employment than in-center hemodialysis patients. Patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes as the cause of ESRD had the lowest probability of employment (PRR, 0.48-0.60 compared with glomerulonephritis). Patients aged 25-54 years more frequently were employed than those younger than 25 or older than 54 years. Sex did not predict employment. For transplant recipients, longer time since transplant was associated with higher employment in addition to the mentioned factors. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design. CONCLUSIONS: Employment rate of home dialysis patients was similar to that of transplant recipients and higher than that of in-center hemodialysis patients. Patients with diabetes were less likely to be employed.

Decline in glomerular filtration rate during pre-dialysis phase and survival on chronic renal replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND: Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is widely used in follow-up and assessment of patients before start of chronic renal replacement therapy (RRT). Reported data on impact of eGFR decline pattern during pre-dialysis phase on consequent survival on RRT are, however, non-existent. METHODS: Using the database of the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases, we conducted a cohort study of all incident adult patients (n = 457) entering chronic RRT in Finland in 1998, with follow-up until 31 December 2008. We included those (n = 319) with three serum creatinine measurements (at ∼12 and 3 months and 1 to 2 weeks prior to RRT start) and calculated their slopes of eGFR using the modification of diet in renal disease formula. According to eGFR slopes (in mL/min/1.73m(2)/year), patients were divided into tertiles: most rapid (>8.5, n = 107), intermediate (3.4-8.5, n = 107) and slowest decline (<3.4, n = 105). RESULTS: Median survival time was 5.6 (95% confidence interval 4.2-7.0) years. Compared to the patient group with the slowest eGFR decline, age- and gender-adjusted relative risk of death was 1.1 (0.8-1.5) in the intermediate group and 1.7 (1.2-2.4, P = 0.002) in the most rapid decline group. When further adjusting for kidney disease diagnosis, comorbidities, use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker, body mass index, blood haemoglobin and serum albumin, the association was no longer significant. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid decline in eGFR before entering chronic RRT associates with increased mortality on RRT. The elevated mortality appears to be caused by known risk factors for death on RRT.

The effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with simvastatin plus ezetimibe in patients with chronic kidney disease (Study of Heart and Renal Protection): a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Lowering LDL cholesterol with statin regimens reduces the risk of myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, and the need for coronary revascularisation in people without kidney disease, but its effects in people with moderate-to-severe kidney disease are uncertain. The SHARP trial aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of the combination of simvastatin plus ezetimibe in such patients. METHODS: This randomised double-blind trial included 9270 patients with chronic kidney disease (3023 on dialysis and 6247 not) with no known history of myocardial infarction or coronary revascularisation. Patients were randomly assigned to simvastatin 20 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg daily versus matching placebo. The key prespecified outcome was first major atherosclerotic event (non-fatal myocardial infarction or coronary death, non-haemorrhagic stroke, or any arterial revascularisation procedure). All analyses were by intention to treat. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00125593, and ISRCTN54137607. FINDINGS: 4650 patients were assigned to receive simvastatin plus ezetimibe and 4620 to placebo. Allocation to simvastatin plus ezetimibe yielded an average LDL cholesterol difference of 0·85 mmol/L (SE 0·02; with about two-thirds compliance) during a median follow-up of 4·9 years and produced a 17% proportional reduction in major atherosclerotic events (526 [11·3%] simvastatin plus ezetimibe vs 619 [13·4%] placebo; rate ratio [RR] 0·83, 95% CI 0·74-0·94; log-rank p=0·0021). Non-significantly fewer patients allocated to simvastatin plus ezetimibe had a non-fatal myocardial infarction or died from coronary heart disease (213 [4·6%] vs 230 [5·0%]; RR 0·92, 95% CI 0·76-1·11; p=0·37) and there were significant reductions in non-haemorrhagic stroke (131 [2·8%] vs 174 [3·8%]; RR 0·75, 95% CI 0·60-0·94; p=0·01) and arterial revascularisation procedures (284 [6·1%] vs 352 [7·6%]; RR 0·79, 95% CI 0·68-0·93; p=0·0036). After weighting for subgroup-specific reductions in LDL cholesterol, there was no good evidence that the proportional effects on major atherosclerotic events differed from the summary rate ratio in any subgroup examined, and, in particular, they were similar in patients on dialysis and those who were not. The excess risk of myopathy was only two per 10,000 patients per year of treatment with this combination (9 [0·2%] vs 5 [0·1%]). There was no evidence of excess risks of hepatitis (21 [0·5%] vs 18 [0·4%]), gallstones (106 [2·3%] vs 106 [2·3%]), or cancer (438 [9·4%] vs 439 [9·5%], p=0·89) and there was no significant excess of death from any non-vascular cause (668 [14·4%] vs 612 [13·2%], p=0·13). INTERPRETATION: Reduction of LDL cholesterol with simvastatin 20 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg daily safely reduced the incidence of major atherosclerotic events in a wide range of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. FUNDING: Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals; Australian National Health and Medical Research Council; British Heart Foundation; UK Medical Research Council.

A marked decline in the incidence of renal replacement therapy for amyloidosis associated with inflammatory rheumatic diseases - data from nationwide registries in Finland.

Risk for amyloidosis in rheumatic diseases is associated with a long-lasting inflammation. To assess possible changes in the incidence of terminal uraemia due to amyloidosis associated with rheumatic diseases on a nationwide basis, we scrutinised the files of the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases for patients suffering from amyloidosis associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) or juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) over the period 1995-2008. The registry has an estimated 97-99% coverage of all patients accepted for renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the country. Data on the consumption of antirheumatic drugs were collected from two sources: the Social Insurance Institution's Drug Reimbursement Register, and the Sales Register of the National Agency for Medicines from the above period. Altogether 264 cases were identified. Two hundred twenty-nine of them had RA, 15 AS and 20 JIA. When the total annual number of new admissions to RRT varied between 20 and 37 at the end of 1990s, it was under half of that from 2002 onwards. Over this period, the number of users of low-dose methotrexate (MTX) has increased 3.6-fold, the drug being the most frequently used disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug in Finland. The present nationwide series is the first to show that the incidence of end-stage renal disease due to amyloidosis associated with rheumatic diseases is decreasing. An obvious reason for this is intensive anti-rheumatic drug therapy.

Survival of patients with type 1 diabetes receiving renal replacement therapy in 1980-2007.

OBJECTIVE: Risks of end-stage renal disease and premature death in patients with type 1 diabetes have declined over the past decades. Data on the survival of patients receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) are, however, limited. We investigated whether survival of patients with type 1 diabetes receiving RRT has improved over time and whether improvement can be attributable to progress in dialysis treatment or diabetes care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: An incident cohort of all patients with type 1 diabetes (n = 1,604) starting chronic RRT in Finland between 1980 and 2005 were followed until death or end of follow-up on 31 December 2007. The control group (n = 1,556) consisted of patients with glomerulonephritis who started RRT. All patients were identified from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases. RESULTS: Median survival time of patients with type 1 diabetes increased progressively from 3.60 years during 1980-1984 to >8 years in 2000-2005. In 2000-2005, the unadjusted relative risk of death was 0.55 compared with 1980-1984. After adjustment for the most important variables, the corresponding relative risk of death was only 0.23. For patients with glomerulonephritis, the adjusted relative risk decreased to a lesser extent to 0.30 (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Survival of patients with type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease has improved since the 1980s despite a conspicuous increase in the age of patients who start RRT, suggesting not only true progress in dialysis therapy and overall treatment of patients with end-stage renal disease but possibly also improved management of diabetes.

Improved survival of type 2 diabetic patients on renal replacement therapy in Finland.

BACKGROUND: Survival of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients on maintenance dialysis therapy is poor mainly due to cardiovascular events. The aim was to examine whether survival of type 2 diabetes patients on renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Finland has improved during 1995-2005. METHODS: Patients who entered RRT because of type 2 diabetes mellitus in 1995-99 (n = 314) and 2000-05 (n = 583) were identified within the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases. The two cohorts were followed up from start of RRT until death or end of follow-up on 31 December 2006. Survival probabilities and probabilities of receiving a kidney transplant were calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Multivariate modelling was performed using Cox regression. RESULTS: Patients who entered RRT in 2000-05 had lower risk of dying than those who entered in 1995-99; hazard ratio (HR) was 0.76 (95% CI 0.65-0.89) and 0.74 (95% CI 0.63-0.87) with adjustment for age and gender. The decreased risk of death was most obvious in age groups 55-64 (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.49-0.92) and 65-74 years (HR 0.69, 95% CI 0.56-0.87). Adjustment for albumin in addition to age and gender only slightly weakened the effect of study periods (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.69-1.01). The patients in 2000-05 were more obese, had lower total and LDL cholesterol and higher HDL cholesterol and albumin concentration in serum than patients in 1995-99. Patients' probability to receive a kidney transplant was low in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Survival of type 2 diabetes patients on RRT improved during the time period 1995-2005 in Finland while the probability of receiving a kidney transplant remained low and unchanged.

An update on renal replacement therapy in Europe: ERA-EDTA Registry data from 1997 to 2006.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have indicated a stabilization in the incidence rates of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in a number of European countries. The aim of this study was to provide an update on the incidence, prevalence and outcomes of RRT in Europe over the past decade. METHODS: Nineteen European national or regional renal registries with registry data from 1997 to 2006 participated in the study. Incidence and prevalence trends were analysed with Poisson and Joinpoint regression. Cox regression methods were used to examine patient survival. RESULTS: The total adjusted incidence rate of RRT for ESRD increased from 109.9 per million population (pmp) in 1997 to 119.7 pmp in 2000, i.e. an average annual percentage change (AAPC) of 2.9% (95% CI 2.1-3.8%). Thereafter, the incidence increased at a much lower rate to 125.4 pmp in 2006 [AAPC 0.6% (95% CI 0.3-0.8%)]. This change in the trend of the incidence of RRT was largely due to a stabilization in the incidence rates of RRT for females aged 65-74 years, males aged 75-84 years and patients receiving RRT for ESRD due to hypertension/renal vascular disease. The overall adjusted prevalence in Europe continued to increase linearly at 2.7% per year. Between the periods 1997-2001 and 2002-2006, the risk of death decreased for all treatment modalities, with the most substantial improvement in patients starting peritoneal dialysis [19% (95% CI 15-22%)] and in patients receiving a kidney transplant [17% (95% CI 11-23%)]. CONCLUSION: This European study shows that the annual rise of the overall incidence rate of RRT for ESRD has diminished and that in several age groups the incidence rates have now stabilized. The survival of dialysis patients and kidney transplant recipients has continued to improve.

Inflammation in renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Renal transplant recipients experience premature cardiovascular disease and death. The association of inflammation, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular events in renal transplant recipients has not been examined in a large prospective controlled trial. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: ALERT was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of fluvastatin on cardiovascular and renal outcomes in 2102 renal transplant recipients. Patients initially randomized to fluvastatin or placebo in the 5- to 6-yr trial were offered open-label fluvastatin in a 2-yr extension to the original study. The association between inflammation markers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and IL-6 on cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality was investigated. RESULTS: The baseline IL-6 value was 2.9 +/- 1.9 pg/ml (n = 1751) and that of hsCRP was 3.8 +/- 6.7 mg/L (n = 1910). After adjustment for baseline values for established risk factors, the hazard ratios for a major cardiac event and all-cause mortality for IL-6 were 1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 1.15, P = 0.018] and 1.11 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.18, P < 0.001), respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio for hsCRP for a cardiovascular event was 1.10 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.20, P = 0.027) and for all-cause mortality was 1.15 (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.1.25, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: The inflammation markers IL-6 and hsCRP are independently associated with major cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in renal transplant recipients.

The Nephrocare project: referral, patient case-mix, follow-up and quality of renal care in Nordic renal centres.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have focused on patients actually attending renal units for their follow-up over time. This study reports the type of prevalent patients (case-mix) with a renal condition being followed up by 19 renal units in the Nordic countries during 1998-99. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a joint quality of care development project between the renal societies of the five Nordic countries and the unit for Quality of Health Systems, WHO (Europe), 19 renal units collected data on a random sample of their prevalent patients. RESULTS: At follow-up, 56% had chronic kidney disease (CKD) not in renal replacement therapy (RRT). Seventeen per cent had haemodialysis (HD), 6% peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 21% a functioning kidney transplant (Tx). In the CKD group, 5.9% were CKD stage 1, 17.6% stage 2, 35.2% stage 3, 25.6% stage 4 and 15.7% stage 5. One-third had known cardiovascular disease, 30% known diabetes, half had a blood pressure >140/90 mmHg and 75% > 130/80 mmHg. Twenty eight per cent had left ventricular hypertrophy, 20% were smokers and 17% were anaemic. One-third of those with known cardiovascular disease were prescribed lipid-lowering therapy and half of those with proteinuria were prescribed an angiotensin-inhibiting drug. CONCLUSIONS: The data, collected in 1998-99, indicate that there is room for improvement in the quality of care provided by renal units to patients with CKD. The data may serve as a basis for assessing possible change in nephrological practice after the introduction of K/DOQI guidelines and staging of chronic renal disease.