Association between serum phosphorus levels and adverse outcomes in chronic kidney disease: an observational cohort study
Abstract Background Although an association between serum phosphorus levels and poor prognosis has been noted in dialysis patients, these associations have been insufficiently reported in non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD) patients. This study attempted to determine the association between serum phosphorus levels and adverse outcomes in Japanese NDD-CKD patients. Methods We investigated the relationships between serum phosphorus levels and adverse outcomes such as kidney events, cardiovascular events, and all-cause death in Japanese NDD-CKD patients, using the longitudinal data of the Fukushima CKD Cohort Study. The study evaluated 822 patients with NDD-CKD enrolled between June 2012 and July 2014. A kidney event was defined as a combination of doubling of the baseline serum creatinine or end-stage renal disease. Cox regression was performed to analyze the relationships of the quartile of the serum phosphorus with kidney events, cardiovascular events, and all-cause death. Results Over a median follow-up period of 2.8 years, 46 patients died, there were 50 cardiovascular events, and 102 kidney events occurred. Increased risk of kidney events was observed in patients with higher serum phosphorus, with the lowest risk shown to be a second quartile of serum phosphorus level of 2.9–3.2 mg/dL. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed an increased risk of kidney events for the highest quartile of the serum phosphorus levels (≥ 3.7 mg/dL) versus the second quartile (2.9–3.2 mg/dL, hazard ratio, 3.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.65–7.94; P = 0.001). A 1 mg/dL increase of the serum phosphorus was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.66 (95% CI; 1.24–2.20) for the kidney events. There were no significant associations between the serum phosphorus levels at baseline and the risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause death. Conclusions Serum phosphorus levels were associated with an increased risk of CKD progression in Japanese NDD-CKD patients.