Although it is beyond any doubt that smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in most countries, smoking as an independent progression factor in renal disease has been questioned against the background of evidence-based criteria. This is because information from large, randomized, prospective studies that investigate the effects of smoking on renal function in healthy individuals as well as in patients with primary or secondary renal disease are lacking. Since 2003, a substantial number of clinical and experimental data concerning the adverse renal effects of smoking have been published, including large, prospective, population-based, observational studies. These more recent data together with evidence from experimental studies clearly indicate that smoking is a relevant risk factor, conferring a substantial increase in risk for renal function deterioration. This review summarizes the present knowledge about the renal risks of smoking as well as the increased cardiovascular risk caused by smoking in patients with chronic kidney disease. The conclusion is that smoking is an important renal risk factor, and nephrologists have to invest more efforts to motivate patients to stop smoking.

Smoking: a risk factor for progression of chronic kidney disease and for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in renal patients--absence of evidence or evidence of absence?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, but its association with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is unclear. With the use of data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, 14,280 middle-aged adults were categorized on the basis of estimated GFR >/=90, 60 to 89, and 15 to 59 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) for normal kidney function, mildly decreased kidney function, and stages 3 to 4 CKD, respectively. Incident PAD was defined as a new onset of ankle-brachial index <0.9 assessed at regular examinations, new intermittent claudication assessed by annual surveillance, or PAD-related hospital discharges. Incidence rates and relative risks (RR) for PAD were compared across these categories. During a mean follow-up time of 13.1 yr (186,616 person-years), 1016 participants developed PAD. The incidence rates per 1000 person-years were 4.7, 4.9, and 8.6 for the normal kidney function, mildly decreased kidney function, and CKD groups, respectively. Compared with participants with normal kidney function, the age-, gender-, race-, and ARIC field center-adjusted RR for PAD was 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.91 to 1.18) for those with mildly decreased kidney function and 1.82 (95% CI 1.34 to 2.47) for those with CKD. After additional adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors, an increase in risk for incident PAD still was observed in participants with CKD, with a multivariable adjusted RR of 1.56 (95% CI 1.13 to 2.14). Patients with CKD are at increased risk for incident PAD. Development of strategies for screening and prevention of PAD in this high-risk population seems warranted.

Kidney Function and Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease: Results from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Use and Utility of Ankle Brachial Index in Patients with Diabetes

BACKGROUND: There has been an emphasis over the last several years to identify and treat chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its complications as they evolve rather than waiting until the patient reaches end-stage renal disease (ESRD), also known as CKD stage 5. The number of patients who will be identified and prescribed therapies for complications such as secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) is greater than initially proposed. OBJECTIVE: To review the pathways, complications, management, and estimated treatment costs of CKD-related SHPT.

https://www.jmcp.org/doi/pdf/10.18553/jmcp.2007.13.5.397

Outcomes of secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic kidney disease and the direct costs of treatment.

Background The association of cystatin C, a novel marker of renal function, with risk for developing complications related to peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has not been examined. Methods We evaluated the hypothesis that a high cystatin C concentration is independently associated with future PAD events among 4025 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study who underwent serum cystatin C measurement at the 1992-1993 visit and who did not have PAD at baseline. The association of cystatin C quintiles with time to first lower-extremity PAD procedure (bypass surgery, angioplasty, or amputation) was evaluated using multivariable proportional hazards models. Secondary analyses were conducted using quintiles of serum creatinine level and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Results The annualized risk of undergoing a procedure for PAD was 0.43% per year among participants in the highest cystatin C quintile (>1.27 mg/L) compared with 0.21% per year or less in all other quintiles. After multivariable adjustment for known risk factors for PAD, elevated cystatin C levels remained associated with the outcome (hazard ratio, 2.5 for highest vs lowest quintile of cystatin C, 95% confidence interval, 1.2-5.1). The highest quintiles of serum creatinine level and eGFR were not associated with future PAD events in either unadjusted or adjusted analyses. Conclusion Elevated concentrations of cystatin C were independently predictive of incident PAD events among community-dwelling elderly patients.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/articlepdf/766843/ioi50152.pdf

Cystatin C and Incident Peripheral Arterial Disease Events in the Elderly: Results From the Cardiovascular Health Study

https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(15)50767-9/pdf

Patricia Martinez

Papers

Subclinical peripheral arterial disease in patients with chronic kidney disease: Prevalence and related risk factors