Association between sarcopenia and frailty in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Frailty and sarcopenia are prevalent in chronic kidney disease (CKD) populations and could increase the risk for adverse health outcomes. Few studies assess the correlation between frailty, sarcopenia and CKD in non-dialysis patients. Therefore, this study aimed to determine frailty-associated factors in elderly CKD stage I-IV patients, expected to early identify and intervene in the frailty of elderly CKD patients. METHODS: A total of 774 elderly CKD I-IV patients (>60 years of age) recruited from 29 clinical centers in China between March 2017 and September 2019 were included in this study. We established a Frailty Index (FI) model to evaluate frailty risk and verified the distributional property of FI in the study population. Sarcopenia was defined according to the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to assess the associated factors for frailty. RESULTS: Seven hundred seventy-four patients (median age 67 years, 66.0% males) were included in this analysis, with a median estimated glomerular filtration rate of 52.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 . The prevalence of sarcopenia was 30.6%. The FI exhibited a right-skewed distribution. The age-related slope of FI was 1.4% per year on a logarithmic scale (r2  = 0.706, 95% CI 0.9, 1.8, P < 0.001). The upper limit of FI was around 0.43. The FI was related to mortality (HR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.00, 1.12, P = 0.041). Multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that sarcopenia, advanced age, CKD stage II-IV, low level of serum albumin and increased waist-hip ratio were significantly associated with high FI status, while advanced age and CKD stage III-IV were significantly associated with for median FI status. Moreover, the results from the subgroup were consistent with the leading results. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcopenia was independently associated with an increased risk for frailty in elderly CKD I-IV patients. Patients with sarcopenia, advanced age, high CKD stage, high waist-hip ratio and low serum albumin level should be assessed for frailty.

Efficacy of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transfusion for the treatment of severe AKI: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and severe clinical problem that is associated with high mortality, a long hospital stays and high healthcare resource consumption. Approximately a quarter of AKI survivors will develop chronic kidney disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells with antiapoptotic, immunomodulatory, antioxidative and proangiogenic properties. Therefore, MSCs have been considered as a potential new therapy for the treatment of AKI. Several clinical trials have been performed, but the results have been inconsistent. This trial investigated whether MSCs can improve renal recovery and mortality in patients with severe AKI. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: One hundred subjects suffering from severe AKI will participate in this patient-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel design clinical trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive two doses of MSCs or placebo (saline) on days 0 and 7. Urinary biomarkers of renal injury and repair will be measured using commercially available ELISA kits. The main outcome measures are changes in renal function levels within the first 28 days following MSC infusion. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Chinese PLA General Hospital. The findings of the study will be disseminated through public and scientific channels. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04194671.

Association of the malnutrition-inflammation score with anthropometry and body composition measurements in patients with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: The malnutrition-inflammation score (MIS) is a nutritional scoring system that has been validated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages III-V, especially in dialysis patients. We aimed to test whether the MIS changed in the early stages of CKD and whether it was associated with anthropometry and body composition measurements (BCMs) in patients with CKD. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Nephrology Department. A total of 144 patients with CKD were included in the study between May 2017 and December 2017. The MIS was calculated without computing the dialysis vintage in the scoring. Body composition was measured using a portable whole-body bioimpedance spectroscopy device. Anthropometric, laboratory, and other body composition parameters were recorded. RESULTS: The MIS was increased in patients with CKD. It was negatively correlated with body mass index (BMI), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), handgrip strength, lean tissue index (LTI), fat tissue index (FTI), phase angle (PA), and hemoglobin and albumin concentrations, and it was positively correlated with sex, overhydration, urinary protein excretion and IL-6. A high MIS was significantly correlated with a low LTI (r=-0.274; P=0.001), low FTI (r=-0.179; P=0.032), overhydration (r=0.457; P<0.001) and low PA (r=-0.475; P<0.001). A rather strong correlation was observed between the PA and the MIS. In the multivariate regressions, after adjusting for age, sex, presence of diabetes, handgrip strength, BMI, overhydration, glomerular filtration rate, albumin and IL-6 concentrations, these relationships did not diminish. CONCLUSIONS: The MIS was strongly linked with indicators of nutrition. As a simple and practical tool for assessing nutritional status, the MIS should be calculated in the early stages of CKD.

The prevalence of depression and the association between depression and kidney function and health-related quality of life in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Purpose: The prevalence of depression and the relationship between depression and kidney function and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are not well understood in elderly patients with predialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depression and the association between depression and kidney function and HRQOL. Patients and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1079 elderly participants with CKD were recruited at 32 clinical centers located within 26 cities throughout 24 provinces in China. Demographic information and laboratory analyses were collected. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). HRQOL was evaluated using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36) instrument. Results: The prevalence of depression was 23.0%. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was negatively correlated with the GDS score whether it was treated as a categorical variable (r=-0.097, P=0.001) or as a continuous variable (r=-0.100, P=0.001). Marital status, education level, history of CVD and diabetes, CKD stage and proteinuria confirmed to be independent and significant predictors of depression in patients with CKD. Compared with CKD 1-2 patients, we observed an increase of 0.541 and 4.171 in the odds for developing depression in patients CKD 4 (odds ratio [OR] =1.541; P=0.031) and CKD 5 (odds ratio [OR] =5.171; P<0.001), respectively. We observed negative and significant correlations with the GDS score for the following components: PCS (r=-0.370, P<0.001), MCS (r=-0.412, P<0.001), burden of kidney disease (r=-0.403, P<0.001), symptoms and problems of kidney disease (r=-0.360, P<0.001) and effects of kidney disease (r=-0.355, P<0.001). Depression was an independent and significant predictor of all the subcomponents of the HRQOL. Conclusions: The prevalence of depression in elderly patients with CKD was high and was negatively correlated with kidney function. Depression had a major negative impact on HRQOL.

Characteristics of and risk factors for death in elderly patients with acute kidney injury: a multicentre retrospective study in China.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) with a poor prognosis in the elderly has been increasing each year. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of and risk factors for death from AKI in the elderly and help improve prognosis. STUDY DESIGN: This study was a retrospective cohort study based on data from adult patients (≥18 years old) admitted to 15 hospitals in China between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011. The characteristics of AKI in the elderly were compared with those in younger patients. RESULTS: In elderly patients with AKI, rates of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) were higher than in younger patients (44.2% vs 31.2%, 16.1% vs 4.6% and 20.9% vs 16.9%, respectively), the length of ICU stay was longer (3.8 days vs 2.7 days, P=0.019) and renal biopsy (1.0% vs 7.13%, P<0.001) and dialysis (9.6% vs 19.2%, P<0.001) were performed less. Hospital-acquired (HA) AKI was more common than community-acquired (CA) AKI (60.3% vs 39.7%), while the most common cause of AKI was pre-renal (53.5%). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR 1.041, 95% CI 1.023 to 1.059), cardiovascular disease (OR 1.980, 95% CI 1.402 to 2.797), cancer (OR 2.302, 95% CI 1.654 to 3.203), MODS (OR 3.023, 95% CI 1.627 to 5.620) and mechanical ventilation (OR 2.408, 95% CI 1.187 to 4.887) were significant risk factors for death. CONCLUSIONS: HA-AKI and pre-renal AKI were more common in the elderly. Age, cardiovascular disease, cancer, MODS and mechanical ventilation were independent risk factors for death in the elderly with AKI.

Chinese observational prospective study of ageing population with chronic kidney disease (C-OPTION): a study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The proportion of elderly people is steadily rising worldwide, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, including China. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common disorder in older people. However, little is known about the epidemiology of CKD and its consequences among the elderly. Improvements on clinical guidelines and healthcare policies for this population are required. This study aims to examine the risk factors for progression of CKD among the elderly and develop models to identify subgroups who are at high risk. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a prospective, multicentre, cohort study. The study population comprises ~3000 patients with predialysis CKD, aged ≥65 years, recruited between March 2016 and December 2017. After the baseline assessments, these patients will be followed for 5 years or until the occurrence of primary outcomes. Assessments that include anthropomorphic measures, laboratory tests, questionnaires, and blood and urine specimen collection will be performed at baseline and at follow-ups. Data on demographic information, cognitive function, depression, risk of malnutrition, physical activity and quality of life will be collected. The primary outcomes are incidence of end-stage renal disease, loss of renal function (≥40% decline in glomerular filtration rate from baseline), and death. The secondary outcomes are acute coronary syndrome, hospitalisation for heart failure or unstable angina, cerebrovascular events, and peripheral arterial disease. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study protocol has been approved by the ethics committees of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital and the participating centres. All the participants gave written informed consent before data collection. The findings of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and will be presented at national or international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03246204; Pre-results.