Endocrine and metabolic changes affecting cardiovascular disease in dialysis patients

Protein-energy wasting plays an important role in the increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease in people with end-stage renal disease. Because protein-energy wasting is a condition of imbalance between anabolism and catabolism, endocrine and metabolic alterations that regulate such balance should be the possible target of intervention. Subjects with end-stage renal disease exhibit various changes in thyroid function, gonadal hormones, adrenal androgen, glucose metabolism, dyslipidemia, fatty acid composition, cholesterol absorption, and vitamin D. In this article, we briefly review the association of these alterations with mortality and cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients. Although some of them may be the adaptive response to the catabolic condition, these observational data are useful for risk stratification of patients and also for providing new ideas for possible prevention.