Association between End-Stage Renal Disease and Incident Diabetes Mellitus-A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Non-linear relationship between baseline fasting blood glucose and mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients, a retrospective cohort study

Background

The relationship between baseline fasting blood glucose (bFBG) and mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients has been the subject of debate, with limited exploration of the non-linear relationship between bFBG and death in these patients.

Methods

This retrospective study categorized patients into four groups based on their bFBG using quartiles. Baseline clinical data at the initiation of dialysis were compared. Survival curves were plotted, and subgroup analyses were stratified by relevant covariates. To address the non-linear relationship, curve fitting and a threshold effect analysis were performed.

Results

The study included 379 PD patients with a median follow-up of 41.8 (22.6, 60.1) months. The COX proportional hazards model showed an association between bFBG and the risk of death after adjusting for confounding factors [hazard ratio (HR): 1.22, 95% CI: 1.05-1.41, P = 0.009]. Stratified analyses indicated a stable correlation between bFBG and mortality. The Kaplan-Meier curve analysis revealed significant differences in survival rates among different groups based on bFBG levels (P < 0.01). The curve fitting analysis revealed a U-shaped relationship between bFBG and mortality, with an inflection point at approximately 5.1 mmol/L.

Conclusion

Our study has demonstrated a non-linear relationship between bFBG and mortality in PD patients. Additionally, we have found that the optimal bFBG value associated with the lowest risk of mortality is approximately 5.1 mmol/L.

Clinical significance of prediabetes, undiagnosed diabetes and diagnosed diabetes on critical outcomes in COVID-19: Integrative analysis from the Japan COVID-19 task force

AIM

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a known risk factor for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the clinical impact of undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes in COVID-19 are unclear particularly in Japan. We clarify the difference in clinical characteristics, including age, sex, body mass index and co-morbidities, laboratory findings and critical outcomes, in a large Japanese COVID-19 cohort without diabetes, with prediabetes, undiagnosed diabetes and diagnosed diabetes, and to identify associated risk factors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This multicentre, retrospective cohort study used the Japan COVID-19 Task Force database, which included data on 2430 hospitalized COVID-19 patients from over 70 hospitals from February 2020 to October 2021. The prevalence of prediabetes, undiagnosed diabetes and diagnosed diabetes were estimated based on HbA1c levels or a clinical diabetes history. Critical outcomes were defined as the use of high-flow oxygen, invasive positive-pressure ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or death during hospitalization.

RESULTS

Prediabetes, undiagnosed diabetes and diagnosed diabetes were observed in 40.9%, 10.0% and 23.0%, respectively. Similar to diagnosed diabetes, prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes were risk factors for critical COVID-19 outcomes (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] [95% CI]: 2.13 [1.31-3.48] and 4.00 [2.19-7.28], respectively). HbA1c was associated with COVID-19 severity in prediabetes patients (aOR [95% CI]: 11.2 [3.49-36.3]), but not other groups.

CONCLUSIONS

We documented the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Japanese COVID-19 patients according to HbA1c levels or diabetes co-morbidity. As well as undiagnosed and diagnosed diabetes, physicians should be aware of prediabetes related to COVID-19 severity.

Prevalence of carbohydrate metabolism disorders in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis therapy

There are quite a lot of scientific works today dedicated to the role of disorders carbohydrate metabolism (DCM) in the development of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), at the same time, the influence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on the development of carbohydrate disorders remains insufficiently studied, especially in patients on renal replacement therapy (RRT). The annual steady increase in the number of patients with ESRD without diabetes mellitus (DM) requiring dialysis therapy leads to increased interest and the need to study carbohydrate status in these patients. It is known that hyperglycemia in patients without DM on hemodialysis (HD) is a predisposing factor to the development of cardiovascular accidents that worsen the quality of life and also increase mortality. The peculiarities of glucose metabolism in patients receiving RRT do not always allow adequate assessment of carbohydrate status using glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The review provides up-to-date information on the prevalence of DCM in patients with ESRD without DM receiving HD RRT, touches upon the peculiarities of glucose metabolism, interpretation of HbA1c and glycated albumin values, and mortality risk in hemodialysis patients with various DCM.

Network Pharmacology Study to Reveal the Potentiality of a Methanol Extract of Caesalpinia sappan L. Wood against Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus

Caesalpinia sappan L. (CS) is widely used to treat diabetic complications in south-east Asia, specifically in traditional Chinese medicine. This study intends to explain the molecular mechanism of how chemical constituents of CS interrelate with different signaling pathways and receptors involved in T2DM. GC-MS was employed to identify the chemical compounds from the methanol extract of CS wood (MECSW). Lipinski’s rule of five was applied, and 33 bioactive constituents have been screened from the CS extract. After that, 124 common targets and 26 compounds associated with T2DM were identified by mining several public databases. Protein–protein interactions and compound-target network were constructed using the STRING database and Cytoscape tool. Protein–protein interactions were identified in 121 interconnected nodes active in T2DM and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) as key target receptors. Furthermore, pathway compound target (PCT) analysis using the merger algorithm plugin of Cytoscape revealed 121 nodes from common T2DM targets, 33 nodes from MECSW compounds and 9 nodes of the KEGG pathway. Moreover, network topology analysis determined “Fisetin tetramethyl ether” as the key chemical compound. The DAVID online tool determined seven signaling receptors, among which PPARG was found most significant in T2DM progression. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analysis implied the involvement of nine pathways, and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) pathway was selected as the hub signaling pathway. Finally, molecular docking and quantum chemistry analysis confirmed the strong binding affinity and reactive chemical nature of fisetin tetramethyl ether with target receptors exceeding that of the conventional drug (metformin), PPARs agonist (rosiglitazone) and co-crystallized ligands, indicating that fisetin could be a potential drug of choice in T2DM management. This study depicts the interrelationship of the bioactive compounds of MECSW with the T2DM-associated signaling pathways and target receptors. It also proposes a more pharmaceutically effective substance, fisetin tetramethyl ether, over the standard drug that activates PPARG protein in the PPAR signaling pathway of T2DM.

Association of Evaluated Glomerular Filtration Rate and Incident Diabetes Mellitus: A Secondary Retrospective Analysis Based on a Chinese Cohort Study

Background

Previous studies have revealed that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant risk factor for insulin resistance and diabetes. However, few studies are on the association between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and incident diabetes, especially in the Chinese population with eGFR&gt;60 mL/min·1.73 m2. This study explored the relationship between eGFR and incident diabetes in a large cohort in the Chinese community.

Methods

This study was a retrospective cohort study. A total of 1,99,435 adults from Rich Healthcare Group in China were studied, including all medical records for participants who received a health check from 2010 to 2016. The target-independent and target-dependent variables were eGFR measured at baseline, and incident diabetes mellitus appeared during the follow-up. After testing the proportion hypothesis, Cox proportional hazards regression was used to investigate the association between eGFR and incident diabetes. A Cox proportional hazards regression with cubic spline functions and smooth curve fitting (the cubic spline smoothing) was used to identify non-linear relationships between eGFR and the risk of diabetes. Additionally, we also performed subgroup analysis and a series sensitivity analysis. It was stated that the data had been uploaded to the DATADRYAD website.

Result

After adjusting gender, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), smoking and drinking status, and family history of diabetes, the result showed that eGFR was negatively associated with incident diabetes [HR = 0.986, 95% CI (0.984, 0.988)]. A non-linear relationship was detected between eGFR and incident diabetes, with an inflection point of eGFR of 98.034 mL/min·1.73 m2. The effect sizes and the confidence intervals (Cis) on the left and right sides of the inflection point were 0.998 (0.993, 1.003) and 0.976 (0.972, 0.980), respectively. Subgroup analysis showed a stronger association in the population with FPG &lt;6.1 mmol/L, BMI &lt;24 kg/m2, SBP &lt;140 mmHg, DBP &lt;90 mmHg and family history without diabetes. The same trend was also seen in women and the population who never smoke.

Conclusion

Estimated glomerular filtration rate is independently associated with incident diabetes. The relationship between eGFR and incident diabetes is also non-linear. eGFR is strongly related to incident diabetes when eGFR was above 98.034 mL/min·1.73 m2.

Health-Related Quality of Life in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients and Healthy Individuals

Background:

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important outcome measure in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). HRQOL is assumed to improve with kidney transplantation and compared to hemodialysis. However, there is no evidence regarding HRQOL to support the optimal treatment choice for patients on hemodialysis who hesitate opting for transplantation. Therefore, this study aims to compare HRQOL between patients with ESRD and healthy individuals.

Materials and Methods:

This case-control study was performed of 50 patients with ESRD under hemodialysis and 100 healthy participants as controls. HRQOL was assess using the SF-36 questionnaire. Data was analysis by using linear regression to compared HRQOL between groups, and adjusted for age, gender, dialysis duration.

Results:

Most of the patients were males (62%) and aged 21 to 60 years old (82%). The patients and healthy subjects were significantly different in terms of the presence of chronic diseases (P<0.05). ESRD patients had a significantly lower level of satisfaction with health and function, family and friends, and social and psychological functions. The patients’ quality of life was not significantly affected by their demographic characteristics, including age, gender, educational level, marital status, and financial status. However, there was a significant association between chronic disease and HRQOL among ESRD (P=0.0001).

Conclusion:

ESRD has a remarkably negative effect on the patients’ quality of life and satisfaction with important domains of life. HRQOL among patients with end-stage renal disease can be affected by the associated chronic diseases.

Global Epidemiology, Health Outcomes, and Treatment Options for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Kidney Failure

The burden of type 2 diabetes and related complications has steadily increased over the last few decades and is one of the foremost global public health threats in the 21st century. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of chronic kidney disease and kidney failure and is an important contributor to the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this population. In addition, up to one in three patients who have received kidney transplants develop post-transplant diabetes, but the management of this common complication continues to pose a significant challenge for clinicians. In this review, we will describe the global prevalence and temporal trend of kidney failure attributed to diabetes mellitus in both developing and developed countries. We will examine the survival differences between treated kidney failure patients with and without type 2 diabetes, focusing on the survival differences in those on maintenance dialysis or have received kidney transplants. With the increased availability of novel hypoglycemic agents, we will address the potential impacts of these novel agents in patients with diabetes and kidney failure and in those who have developed post-transplant diabetes.

Incidence and mortality of new-onset glucose disorders in peritoneal dialysis patients in China: a meta-analysis

Background

Dialysis patients are at high risk of developing glucose metabolism disturbances (GMDs), such as diabetes mellitus (DM), impaired fast glucose (IFG), and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). However, it is unclear about the incidence of GMDs in Chinese patients with peritoneal dialysis (PD), as well as the influence of new-onset DM (NODM) on the prognosis of PD patients. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to address these issues.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, SinoMed, and CNKI database for studies that evaluated the incidence of GMDs and mortality in patients with PD. Results were expressed as hazard ratio (HR), risk ratio (RR), or estimate (ES) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs).Meta-analysis was performed using a fixed-effects or random-effects model to pool the estimate.

Results

Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled results showed that, the incidences of NODM, NOIGT, and NOIFG were 12% (95%CI: 9, 15%; P < 0.001), 17% (95%CI: 4, 10%; P < 0.001) and 32% (95%CI: 3, 30%, P < 0.001), respectively. Compared with patients without NODM, PD patients with NODM had an increased risk of mortality (HR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.28, 1.98; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of NODM between PD and hemodialysis (HD) patients (RR = 1.23, 95%CI: 0.61, 2.51; P = 0.562).

Conclusion

Dialysis patients in China had an increased risk of developing GMDs, however, the dialysis modality did not have any significant impact on the incidence of NODM. NODM increased the mortality risk in patients undergoing PD. Thus, physicians should pay attention to the plasma glucose level in patients undergoing dialysis.

End-stage renal disease as a risk factor for epiglottitis: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES

Patients with uremia are prone to infection; however, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) as a risk factor for acute epiglottitis warrants study. We investigated the risk of severe epiglottitis requiring hospitalisation in patients with ESRD.

SETTING

We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study by using the claims data of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.

PARTICIPANTS

We identified an ESRD cohort with 87 908 patients newly diagnosed in 2000-2013 and underwent dialysis. The non-ESRD cohort comprised patients who had not received a diagnosis of ESRD, and they were matches to the ESRD cohort (1:1) by sex, age, residence urbanisation level, monthly income, and diabetes and hypertension status.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

The cumulative incidence of epiglottitis at the end of 2013 was analysed with Kaplan-Meier methods and log-rank tests. The HR of epiglottitis was calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model after adjustment for confounding factors.

RESULTS

The overall epiglottitis incidence rate was 94% greater in the ESRD cohort than in the non-ESRD cohort (10.3 vs 5.3 cases per 100 000 person-years, p=0.002), with an adjusted HR of 1.89 (95% CI: 1.23 to 2.91, p=0.004). In the log-rank analysis, compared with the non-ESRD group, the epiglottitis cumulative incidence was significantly higher in the ESRD group (p=0.003). Epiglottitis did not exhibit an association with higher rates of airway interventions, intensive care unit admissions or longer hospitalisation in patients with ESRD than in controls.

CONCLUSIONS

This nationwide matched cohort study indicated that ESRD patients should be monitored for the risk of severe epiglottitis requiring hospitalisation.

AGE/RAGE signaling-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress and future prospects in non-coding RNA therapeutics for diabetic nephropathy

Disturbance of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis triggered by the accumulation of unfolded proteins and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) plays a major role in pathophysiology of diabetic nephropathy. Activation of receptor for AGEs (RAGE) stimulates NADPH oxidase-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, leading to ER stress, inflammation, glomerular hypertrophy, podocyte injury, and renal fibrosis. A growing body of evidence indicates that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) could rescue ER stress and renal inflammation by the epigenetic modification. This review summarizes ncRNA regulation in AGE/RAGE signaling-mediated ER stress, and discusses the opportunities and challenges of ncRNA-loaded extracellular vesicle therapy in diabetic nephropathy.

The CHA2DS2-VASc score predicts chronic kidney disease among patients with atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND

It is unclear how the CHA2DS2-VASc score can predict subsequent chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among atrial fibrillation (AF) patients.

METHODS

We identified incident AF patients without CKD between 2000 and 2013 from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan and calculated the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score for each patient. Adjusted hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated from multivariate cause-specific Cox models to assess the risk of CKD and ESRD associated with the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score.

RESULTS

A total of 8764 participants with AF who did not have CKD were included in the analysis. The mean age was 69.63 ± 13.48 years and 4800 (54.8%) were males. The adjusted HR of CKD displayed a stepwise increase with the increase in the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score. When compared with those with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of 0, the adjusted HRs of CKD were 1.57 (95% CI 1.09-2.26), 2.04 (95% CI 1.42-2.94), 2.48 (95% CI 1.70-3.62), 2.88 (95% CI 1.95-4.26), 3.29 (95% CI 2.18-4.95) and 4.00 (95% CI 2.61-6.13) for the AF patients with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and ≥ 6, respectively. Similarly, as the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score increased, the adjusted HR of ESRD showed a gradual increase.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with a higher CHA₂DS₂-VASc score were linked to a higher risk of CKD and ESRD in a dose-dependent effect, i.e. the incidence of CKD/ESRD increased with the increasing CHA₂DS₂-VASc score.

New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus in Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis Patients: Frequency, Risk Factors, and Prognosis-A Review

New-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) is observed in both hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The prevalence of NODM in dialysis patients is slightly higher compared to subjects of the general population. Based on currently published data there is no convincing evidence that the risk of NODM is different between HD and PD patients. Data on the effect of glucose load on risk of NODM in dialysis patients remain controversial. PD modality (automated or continuous ambulatory PD) has no significant influence on NODM incidence. Chronic inflammation is associated with NODM in dialysis patients. Reported differences in NODM between PD and HD patients are possibly also influenced by differences in demographic factors between these patient groups. Mortality in NODM patients is lower than mortality in patients with preexisting DM. This may be partly explained by the younger age and lower number of comorbidities in patients with NODM.

Design and Baseline Characteristics of the Finerenone in Reducing Kidney Failure and Disease Progression in Diabetic Kidney Disease Trial

BACKGROUND

Among diabetics, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality, and progression of their underlying disease. Finerenone is a novel, non-steroidal, selective mineralocorticoid-receptor antagonist which has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on renal and CV outcomes has not been investigated in long-term trials yet.

METHODS

The Finerenone in Reducing Kidney Failure and Disease Progression in Diabetic Kidney Disease -(FIDELIO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important renal and CV outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIDELIO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 5.5 years. FIDELIO-DKD randomized 5,734 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥25-<75 mL/min/1.73 m2 and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio ≥30-≤5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level α = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of kidney failure, a sustained decrease of eGFR ≥40% from baseline over at least 4 weeks, or renal death.

CONCLUSION

FIDELIO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of renal and CV events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen.

Effect of New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus on Renal Outcomes and Mortality in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background: The incidence rates of diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are increasing worldwide and their coexistence can have a large negative impact on clinical outcomes. However, it is unclear how incident DM affects CKD patients. Methods: Incident CKD patients between 2000 and 2013 were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan; they were classified as non-DM (n = 10,356), pre-existing DM (n = 6982), and incident DM (n = 1103). Non-DM cases were patients who did not develop DM before the end of the observation period. The outcomes of interest were end-stage renal disease (ESRD), mortality, and composite outcome (ESRD or death). The association between the DM groups and clinical outcomes was estimated using the inverse probability of group-weighted (IPW) multivariate-adjusted time-dependent Cox regression models. Results: During the study period of 14 years, 1735 (16.6%) patients in the non-DM group reached ESRD compared with 2168 (31.05%) in the pre-existing DM group and 111 (11.03%) in the incident DM group (p < 0.001). Moreover, 2219 (21.43%) patients in the non-DM group died compared with 1895 (27.14%) in the pre-existing DM group and 303 (27.47%) in the incident DM group (p < 0.001). Compared with the non-DM group, the pre-existing DM group was associated with a higher risk of ESRD [hazard ratio (HR) 2.54; 95% confidence interval (CI 2.43–2.65), death (HR 2.23; 95% CI 2.14–2.33), and a composite outcome (HR 2.29; 95% CI 2.21–2.36). Similarly, incident DM was also associated with a higher risk of ESRD (HR 1.12; 95% CI 1.06–1.19), death (HR 2.48; 95% CI 2.37–2.60), and a composite outcome (HR 1.77; 95% CI 1.70–1.84) compared with the non-DM group. Factors contributing to incident DM included old age, low monthly income, and having hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and ischemic heart disease, while pentoxifylline reduced the risk of incident DM. Conclusion: Similarly to pre-existing DM, CKD patients with incident DM carried a higher risk of ESRD, mortality, and a composite outcome compared with those with non-DM. For those at risk of incident DM, strict monitoring and intervention strategies must be adopted to help improve their clinical outcomes.