Risk factors for increased left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with chronic kidney disease: findings from the CKD-JAC study

Background Although left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) has been established as a predictor of cardiovascular events in chronic kidney disease (CKD), the relationship between the prevalence of LVH and CKD stage during the pre-dialysis period has not been fully examined. Methods We measured left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in a cross-sectional cohort of participants in the Chronic Kidney Disease Japan Cohort (CKD-JAC) study to identify factors that are associated with increased LVMI in patients with stage 3–5 CKD. Results We analyzed the baseline characteristics in 1088 participants (male 63.8%, female 36.2%). Diabetes mellitus was the underlying disease in 41.7% of the patients, and mean age was 61.8 ± 11.1 years. LVH was detected in 23.4% of the patients at baseline. By multivariate logistic analysis, independent risk factors for LVH were past history of cardiovascular disease [odds ratio (OR) 2.364; 95% confidence interval ([CI) 1.463–3.822; P = 0.0004], body mass index (OR 1.108; 95% CI 1.046–1.173; P = 0.0005), systolic blood pressure (OR 1.173; 95% CI 1.005–1.369; P = 0.0433), urinary albumin (OR 1.425; 95% CI 1.028–1.974; P = 0.0333), and serum total cholesterol level (OR 0.994; 95% CI 0.989–0.999; P = 0.0174). Conclusion The cross-sectional baseline data from the CKD-JAC study shed light on the association between LVH and risk factors in patients with decreased renal function. Further longitudinal analyses of the CKD-JAC cohort are needed to evaluate the prognostic value of LVH in CKD patients.