Obesity and risk of death or dialysis in younger and older patients on specialized pre-dialysis care

BackgroundObesity is associated with increased mortality and accelerated decline in kidney function in the general population. Little is known about the effect of obesity in younger and older pre-dialysis patients. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which obesity is a risk factor for death or progression to dialysis in younger and older patients on specialized pre-dialysis care.MethodIn a multicenter Dutch cohort study, 492 incident pre-dialysis patients (>18y) were included between 2004–2011 and followed until start of dialysis, death or October 2016. We grouped patients into four categories of baseline body mass index (BMI): 2 and stratified patients into two age categories (ResultsThe study population comprised 212 patients younger than 65 years and 280 patients 65 years and older; crude cumulative risk of dialysis and mortality at the end of follow-up were 66% and 4% for patients ConclusionWe found that obesity in younger pre-dialysis patients and being underweight in older pre-dialysis patients are risk factors for starting dialysis and for death, compared with those with a normal BMI.