Polycystic kidney disease is significantly associated with dementia risk

Abstract

Data on the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD), in patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) are lacking. A total of 4,229 patients who were aged ≥20 years and had received a diagnosis of PKD were included in the PKD cohort. For each PKD case identified, 1 participant aged ≥20 years without a history of PKD, dementia, or PD was selected from the comparison cohort. For each patient with PKD, the corresponding controls were selected 1:1 on the basis of the nearest propensity score calculated using logistic regression. The incidence density rates of dementia were 4.31 and 2.50 per 1,000 person-years in the PKD and control cohorts, respectively. A 2.04-fold higher risk of dementia was observed in patients with PKD than in controls (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.46-2.85). Regarding the risk of different dementia subtypes, including AD and vascular dementia (VaD), the aHR for AD and presenile dementia was 2.71 (95% CI 1.08-6.75) and that for VaD was 0.90 (95% CI 0.43-1.87) in patients with PKD compared with controls, after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities. Compared with controls, the risk of PD increased by 1.78-fold (95% CI 1.14-2.79) in patients with PKD. In clinical practice, health care professionals should be aware of the risk of neurodegenerative diseases in patients with PKD.