Morgan Grams, MD, Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, and their colleagues at Johns Hopkins University studied risk factors for AKI in the general population. Using information from a large population-based group of 11,200 individuals who were followed for an average of eight years, the investigators evaluated the potential links between acute kidney injury and markers of reduced kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR) and kidney damage (protein excreted in the urine, or albuminuria), as well as traditionally recognized risk factors, such as age, race, and sex.

Dr. Grams, Dr. Coresh, and their team discovered that patients with the highest levels of albuminuria had almost a 5-fold increased risk of developing AKI. Similarly, the risk of developing acute kidney injury increased, as eGFR decreased. These associations persisted within subgroups of patients categorized by age, race, and sex. "The results suggest that a person's risk profile for acute kidney injury depends not only on eGFR, which is the basis of the current kidney disease staging system, but also on levels of albuminuria," said Dr. Grams, the lead author on the paper. The authors noted that as strategies for AKI prevention are developed, preventative measures should be considered for patients both with albuminuria and decreased eGFR.

SOURCE Journal of the American Society of Nephrology