Acute Kidney Injury in Sugarcane Workers at Risk for Mesoamerican Nephropathy

Mesoamerican nephropathy (MeN), a form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown cause in Central America, affects young individuals working in physically strenuous occupations. Repeated episodes of work-related kidney injury may lead to CKD in this setting. We aimed to better understand the burden and natural history of acute kidney injury (AKI) in workers at risk for MeN.

Cross-sectional study of active sugarcane workers, followed by prospective follow-up of individuals with AKI.

326 sugarcane workers with normal preharvest serum creatinine (Scr) values and no history of CKD in an MeN hotspot in Nicaragua near the end of the harvest, and prospective follow-up of workers with AKI.

AKI during the harvest, as defined by Scr level increase ≥ 0.3mg/dL over baseline to a level ≥ 1.3mg/dL.

Kidney function trajectory and development of CKD over 12 months.

Linear regression models were used to analyze the association between job category and kidney function. For workers with AKI, the effect of time on Scr level was evaluated using linear mixed effects.

34 of 326 participants were found to have AKI, with a median late-harvest Scr level of 1.64mg/dL in the AKI group. Workers without AKI had a median Scr level of 0.88mg/dL. AKI was more common among cane cutters compared with other field workers. Participants with AKI had variable degrees of kidney function recovery, with median 6- and 12-month Scr values of 1.25 and 1.27mg/dL, respectively (P < 0.001 for each follow-up value compared to late-harvest Scr). When we compared workers' kidney function before the AKI episode to their kidney function at last follow-up, 10 participants with AKI developed de novo estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60mL/min/1.73m² and 11 had a >30% decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Follow-up limited to 1 year and some loss to follow-up in the prospective component of the study. Broad definition of AKI that includes both acute and subacute kidney injury.

In a group of sugarcane workers with normal preharvest kidney function, newly decreased kidney function developing during the harvest season was common. Of those with kidney injury, nearly half had established CKD 12 months later.