Cytokine patterns and survival in haemodialysis patients

Increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels are associated with decreased survival. We performed factor analyses to determine if pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in haemodialysis (HD) patients load onto one or two discrete factors and assessed if patients with a specific pattern of high pro-inflammatory cytokines have decreased survival compared to patients with a high anti-inflammatory cytokine pattern.

We evaluated 231 HD patients and analyzed them based on the three most common cytokine distribution patterns seen: a high pro-inflammatory group, a high anti-inflammatory group and all others. Survival and Cox regression analyses were performed.

Factor analyses of individual cytokines showed that they loaded onto a single factor. Sixty-five patients had a pro-inflammatory pattern of high IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels and low anti-inflammatory parameters, including IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-12, CH50 and T-cell number. The next most frequent cytokine pattern was found in 20 patients with high levels of anti-inflammatory parameters. The patients with high pro-inflammatory cytokines had decreased survival compared to patients without a characteristic cytokine pattern.

Further research is needed to better define the underlying causes of increased inflammation among end-stage renal disease patients and to apply anti-inflammatory therapies that may mitigate adverse effects on patient outcomes.