Association of Neutrophil and Albumin With Mortality Risk in Patients Receiving Peritoneal Dialysis

Objective

Inflammation and nutrition have been recognized as predicting mortality in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD). Serum neutrophil and albumin are crucial factors in inflammation and nutrition status. Up until now, the synergistic effect of neutrophil and albumin on mortality prediction in PD patients is still being determined. Our study sought to assess the effect of the interaction between neutrophils and albumin on the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality patients receiving PD.

Methods

A total of 1229 PD patients were recruited and divided into three categories in this cohort study. Their relationships with all-cause mortality and CVD mortality were analyzed in multivariable COX regression models adjusted for confounding factors.

Results

During the median follow-up of 34.2 months, 222 (18.1%) patients died, and 115 (51.8%) suffered from cardiovascular events. Patients with high neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio (NPAR) showed increased all-cause mortality and CVD mortality, with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.490 (95% confidence interval, 1.070-2.074, P = .018) and 1.633 (95% confidence interval, 1.041-2.561, P = .033), respectively, compared with those with low NPAR. Competitive risk models and sensitivity analyses further confirmed this association. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, however, there was little evidence that NPAR is a better indicator than albumin and neutrophil count.

Conclusions

Having a high NPAR is linked to a higher risk of mortality, especially when both high neutrophil and low albumin are present.