The Association between Baseline Serum Lipids and Mortality in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Introduction: Lipid disturbances are common in ESRD patients. In peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, dyslipidemia is even more common. This study aimed to examine whether serum lipids were associated with prognosis of PD patients. Methods: Patients from a multicenter retrospective cohort were used for the present study. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Cox regression was used to analyze the association between serum lipids including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides and the prognosis. Results: The results showed that lower total cholesterol and LDL levels at the initiation of PD predicted higher all-cause mortality in PD patients. Multivariate analysis reveal that the association disappeared after adjusting for age, gender, albumin, prealbumin, protein catabolic rate normalized to body weight, C-reactive protein, and residual renal function. Further analysis showed that patients with lower total cholesterol/LDL had a higher mortality only during the first 24 months of follow-up. In the patients who survived >2 years after PD, lower total cholesterol/LDL was not associated with higher long-term all-cause mortality any more. Conclusion: Lower total cholesterol/LDL levels at the initiation of PD were associated with overall mortality in PD patients. The association could be potentially modified by malnutrition, inflammation, and residual renal function or disappeared after 24 months.