Vitamin D supplementation and mortality risk in chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis of 20 observational studies

Vitamin D insufficiency correlates with mortality risk among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The survival benefits of active vitamin D treatment have been assessed in patients with CKD not requiring dialysis and in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis.

MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrance Library, and article reference lists were searched for relevant observational trials. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) checklist. Pooled effects were calculated as hazard ratios (HR) using random-effects models.

Twenty studies (11 prospective cohorts, 6 historical cohorts and 3 retrospective cohorts) were included in the meta-analysis., Participants receiving vitamin D had lower mortality compared to those with no treatment (adjusted case mixed baseline model: HR, 0.74; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.67-0.82; P <0.001; time-dependent Cox model: HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.57-0.89; P <0.001). Participants that received calcitriol (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.50-0.79; P <0.001) and paricalcitol (HR, 0.43 95% CI, 0.29-0.63; P <0.001) had a lower cardiovascular mortality. Patients receiving paricalcitol had a survival advantage over those that received calcitriol (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91-0.99; P <0.001).

Vitamin D treatment was associated with decreased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with CKD not requiring dialysis and patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis. There was a slight difference in survival depending on the type of vitamin D analogue. Well-designed randomized controlled trials are necessary to assess the survival benefits of vitamin D.