Background: Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD stage 4-5) have an increased risk of death. To study the determinants of all-cause mortality, we recruited 210 consecutive CKD stage 4-5 patients not on dialysis to the prospective Chronic Arterial Disease, quality of life and mortality in chronic KIDney injury (CADKID) study. Methods: One hundred seventy-four patients underwent maximal bicycle ergometry stress testing and lateral lumbar radiography to study abdominal aortic calcification score and echocardiography. Carotid and femoral artery intima-media thickness and elasticity and brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation were measured in 156 patients. Results: The duration of follow-up was 42 ± 17 months (range 134-2,217 days). The mean age was 61 ± 14 years, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate was 12 (11-15) mL/min/1.73 m 2. Thirty-six (21%) patients died during follow-up (time to death 835 ± 372 days). Seventy-five and 21 patients had diabetes and coronary artery disease, respectively, and all but one had hypertension. In the respective multivariate proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, and coronary artery disease, the significant determinants of mortality were troponin T, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, maximal ergometry performance, abdominal aortic calcification score, E/e′ ratio, and albumin. Conclusion: Stress ergometry performance, abdominal aortic calcification score, E/e′ of echocardiography, and plasma cardiac biomarkers and albumin predict mortality in advanced CKD.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Patients with CKD have an impaired health-related quality of life (QoL). Most studies have been conducted on dialysis patients, and less is known about QoL and its determinants in predialysis patients. We studied the association between QoL and comorbidities, cardiac biomarkers, echocardiography, and mortality in patients with CKD stage 4–5 not on dialysis. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A total of 140 patients enrolled in the Chronic Arterial Disease, Quality of Life and Mortality in Chronic Kidney Injury (CADKID) study filled the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form (KDQOL-SF) at the beginning of the study. Echocardiography and biochemical parameters were obtained at baseline. Patients were followed up for at least 2 years or until death. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The median age was 66 years, and 51 (36%) patients were female. The median estimated glomerular filtration rate was 13 mL/min per 1.73 m². Obesity, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and congestive heart failure were associated with lower QoL scores in multiple KDQOL-SF domains. Cardiac biomarkers, troponin T (<i>p</i> = 0.02), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (<i>p</i> = 0.006), and the echocardiographic parameter of cardiac systolic function left ventricular global longitudinal strain (<i>p</i> = 0.02) were significant predictors of lower physical component summary (PCS) score in multivariable regression models after controlling for age, BMI, and diabetes. A low PCS score predicted mortality in a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model [HR 0.96 (95% CI 0.92–0.99), <i>p</i> = 0.03]. QoL was not associated with kidney disease progression. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Impaired QoL in CKD stage 4–5 patients not on dialysis is associated with cardiac biomarker levels, echocardiographic indices, and mortality.

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