Arterial stiffness tied to kidney disease in children

Pulse wave velocity is increased in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online Aug. 25 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Karolis Azukaitis, M.D., Ph.D., from Vilnius University in Lithuania, and colleagues assessed longitudinal dynamics and determinants of pulse wave velocity in children with CKD and its association with CKD progression. The analysis included 667 children aged 6 to 17 years with CKD stages 3 to 5.

The researchers found pulse wave velocity was above the 95th percentile in 20 percent of patients at baseline. During the median 2.7 years of follow-up, absolute pulse wave velocity increased gradually, while the pulse wave velocity z score remained relatively stable. Over time, absolute pulse wave velocity was associated with time, older age, lower ferritin, and higher mean arterial pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and albuminuria. Similar associations were seen for the pulse wave velocity z score plus a higher diastolic blood pressure z score, lower height z score, younger age, and girls. More than half of patients (58.8 percent) reached the composite end point of CKD progression during a median follow-up of 2.4 years. There was no association observed between pulse wave velocity z score and CKD progression.

“Pulse wave velocity is increased in children with CKD but does not associate with estimated glomerular filtration rate or CKD progression,” the authors write.

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