Hypoglycemia and Mortality Risk in Incident Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract

BackgroundHypoglycemia is a frequent occurrence in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients due to alterations in glucose and insulin metabolism. However, there are sparse data examining the predictors and clinical implications of hypoglycemia including mortality risk among incident hemodialysis patients. MethodsAmong 58,304 incident hemodialysis patients receiving care from a large national dialysis organization over 2007-2011, we examined clinical characteristics associated with risk of hypoglycemia, defined as a blood glucose concentration <70 mg/dL, in the first year of dialysis using expanded case-mix+laboratory logistic regression models. We then examined the association between hypoglycemia during the first year of dialysis with all-cause mortality using expanded case-mix+laboratory Cox models. ResultsIn the first year of dialysis, hypoglycemia was observed among 16.8% of diabetic and 6.9% of non-diabetic incident hemodialysis patients. In adjusted logistic regression models, clinical characteristics associated with hypoglycemia included younger age, female sex, African-American race, presence of a central venous catheter, lower residual renal function, and longer dialysis session length. In the overall cohort, patients who experienced hypoglycemia had a higher risk of all-cause mortality risk (reference: absence of hypoglycemia): adjusted HR (95%CI) 1.08 (1.04, 1.13). In stratified analyses, hypoglycemia was also associated with higher mortality risk in the diabetic and non-diabetic subgroups: adjusted HRs (95% CI’s) 1.08 (1.04-1.13), and 1.17 (0.94-1.45), respectively. ConclusionsHypoglycemia was a frequent occurrence among both diabetic and non-diabetic hemodialysis patients, and was associated with higher mortality risk. Further studies are needed to identify approaches that reduce hypoglycemia risk in the hemodialysis population.