Abdominal Obesity and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in End-Stage Renal Disease

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value for all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) death of anthropometric measurements of abdominal obesity in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Background Surrogate measures of abdominal obesity and segmental fat distribution (waist circumference and waist/hip ratio [WHR]) are stronger predictors of all-cause and CV death than body mass index (BMI) in the general population, but the issue has never been investigated in patients with ESRD. Methods We performed a prospective cohort study in 537 patients with ESRD (age 63 ± 15 years). Results In BMI-adjusted Cox models, waist circumference was a direct predictor of all-cause and CV mortality (p Conclusions Abdominal obesity underlies a high risk of all-cause and CV mortality in patients with ESRD. Redefinition of nutritional status by combining the metrics of abdominal obesity and BMI may refine prognosis in the ESRD population.