Interactions between dialysis-related volume exposures, nutritional surrogates and mortality among ESRD patients

Interdialytic weight gain is used as a surrogate for volume expansion in haemodialysis patients and as an indicator of non-compliance. Increased weight gain is associated with both a greater mortality risk and better nutrition indices. This analysis characterizes the association between dialysis-related volume expansion and mortality in the context of its interaction with nutritional surrogates.

All patients receiving haemodialysis through Fresenius Medical Care-North America during 1998 were included. The percentage reduction in weight or intradialytic weight loss (IDWL%) was defined as the difference between the average of pre- and post-dialysis weights from the last 3 months of 1997 expressed as a percentage of post-dialysis weight. Associations between IDWL% and clinical and demographic variables were estimated using linear regression. The association between mortality risk and IDWL% was estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Younger age, male gender, the presence of diabetes mellitus, decreasing cholesterol, post-dialysis weight and pre-dialysis blood pressure (systolic and pulse pressure) were associated with increased IDWL%. Increasing IDWL% was associated with increasing phosphorus, creatinine, albumin, potassium and urea reduction ratio. Increasing IDWL% was significantly associated with mortality at 1 year [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.07, P = 0.003]. Among patients with diabetes mellitus, increasing IDWL% was associated with a mortality HR of 1.03 (P = 0.02). Among patients without diabetes mellitus, increasing IDWL% was not associated with an increased mortality risk. Increasing IDWL% is associated with a greater mortality risk among patients with creatinine <7.26, which failed to remain significant for patients whose creatinine was >or=7.26 mg/dl. Increasing IDWL% is associated with a greater mortality risk among patients with greater post-dialysis weight, greater body mass index and lower serum sodium measurements.

This study confirms and extends the findings of the deleterious association between increasing IDWL% and mortality among patients with diabetes mellitus and among subgroups based on serum creatinine and body weight. The putative deleterious effect of dialysis-related volume expansion on mortality must be interpreted in the context of the patient's diabetic and nutritional status.