Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration: an anemia parameter predicting cardiovascular disease in incident dialysis patients

Background Hemoglobin levels usually decline before dialysis initiation. The influence of overhydration on anemia progression and iron sequestration is poorly documented. Furthermore, clinical implications of anemia at dialysis initiation remain to be elucidated. Methods This multicenter retrospective cohort study enrolled incident dialysis patients. The patients were stratified by tertiles of overhydration rate (OH-R) defined by (BW − DW)/DW*100 (BW: body weight just before dialysis initiation, DW: dry weight). Time courses (6 months before, to 1 month after, dialysis initiation) of hemoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and iron sequestration index (ISI) were examined using mixed effects models. We used Cox models to identify anemia parameters predicting subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Results Among the 905 enrolled patients, hemoglobin levels gradually decreased before dialysis initiation and rapidly increased thereafter. An inverse V-shaped time course was observed for CRP and ISI with an increase during dialysis initiation. Patients with a higher OH-R showed lower hemoglobin levels along with higher CRP and ISI levels before dialysis initiation. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) was more stable before dialysis initiation than were mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH). Low MCHC (< 32 g/dL) was independently associated with the incidence of nonatherosclerotic CVD. Patients with low MCHC tended to have increased left ventricular wall thickness and left atrial diameter. Conclusions Progression of anemia before dialysis among overhydrated patients may mainly occur through hemodilution and iron sequestration partly induced by inflammation. Low MCHC reflects left atrial overload and left ventricular hypertrophy and hence may predict nonatherosclerotic CVD. Graphic abstract