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Body mass does not have a clinically relevant effect on cystatin C eGFR in children
Ajay P Sharma1, Anusha Kathiravelu, Renisha Nadarajah
1Department of Paediatrics, Division of Paediatric Nephrology, Children's Hospital, London Health Science Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Insights
Body mass has minimal impact on Cystatin C estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in children. Adjusting for body mass index (BMI) z-score did not improve the accuracy of Cystatin C eGFR in pediatric kidney disease patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Biomarkers in Kidney Disease
- Renal Function Assessment
Background:
- Cystatin C (CysC) is considered independent of body composition in pediatric populations.
- Recent adult studies suggest body mass adjustment improves CysC-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).
- This necessitates re-evaluating CysC eGFR performance in children considering body mass.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of body mass on CysC eGFR in children.
- To determine if accounting for body mass index (BMI) z-score improves CysC eGFR accuracy in pediatric patients with kidney diseases.
Main Methods:
- Studied 240 children (ages 2-17.9 years) with various kidney diseases.
- Assessed the relationship between (99)Tc DTPA GFR and CysC eGFR.
- Calculated BMI z-score adjusted for height and age to account for growth retardation.
Main Results:
- CysC eGFR showed no significant correlation with BMI z-score (r=0.06, P=0.34).
- Accounting for BMI z-score did not improve the 65% variance explained by CysC eGFR or alter the regression coefficient (0.85).
- Bland & Altman analysis revealed no improvement in bias (0.05) or standard deviation (20.39) after adjustment.
Conclusions:
- Body mass has a minimal effect on the performance of CysC eGFR estimation in children.
- Current CysC eGFR formulas are sufficiently accurate in pediatric populations without specific body mass adjustments.
Background:
Unlike creatinine, Cystatin C (CysC) is believed to be independent of body composition in both adults and children. Recent findings in adults, suggesting an improved performance of CysC-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (CysC eGFR) by accounting for body mass, necessitated a careful re-evaluation of this issue in children.
Methods:
We studied 240 children (median age 11.7 years, range 2-17.9 years, 107 girls), with various kidney diseases, for any change in the relationship between (99)Tc DTPA GFR and CysC eGFR after accounting for body mass. For body mass assessment, body mass index (BMI) z-score was calculated using height-adjusted age, to account for growth retardation secondary to chronic kidney disease.
Results:
CysC eGFR did not have a significant correlation with BMI z-score (correlation coefficient = 0.06; P = 0.34). Accounting for BMI z-score did not add to the 65% variance in nuclear GFR explained by CysC eGFR. Moreover, it did not change the regression coefficient of 0.85 between CysC eGFR and nuclear GFR either. On Bland & Altman analysis, the bias of 0.05 and standard deviation of 20.39 also did not improve after accounting for BMI z-score in the revised CysC eGFR formula.
Conclusions:
In children, body mass exerts a minimal effect on the performance of CysC eGFR estimation.
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