Association of Nocturnal Hypoxemia with Progression of CKD

Background and objectivesNocturnal hypoxemia is highly prevalent among patients with CKD. Nocturnal hypoxemia contributes to systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial cell dysfunction, and activation of the renin-angiotensin system, which are common pathologic mechanisms of CKD progression. This study investigated whether nocturnal hypoxemia is independently associated with CKD progression.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsThis two-center retrospective cohort study included 161 patients with stages 3-4 CKD enrolled from January of 2009 to July of 2011 with a body mass index less than 25.0 kg/m(2). The 4% oxygen desaturation index, the number of events per hour in which oxygen saturation decreases by >4% during sleep, was measured, and the declining rate of the estimated GFR was followed over 1 year. The severity of nocturnal hypoxemia was categorized as none (oxygen desaturation index<5.0), mild (5.0oxygen desaturation index<15.0), or moderate to severe (15.0oxygen desaturation index).ResultsThe mean estimated GFR of the total cohort at baseline was 31 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). Eighty patients (49.7%) were diagnosed with nocturnal hypoxemia; 64 patients were diagnosed with mild nocturnal hypoxemia, and 16 patients were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe nocturnal hypoxemia. The estimated GFR declined three- to fourfold faster in patients with moderate-to-severe nocturnal hypoxemia than patients with no or mild nocturnal hypoxemia (the mean values [95% confidence intervals] were -2.14 [-1.06 to -3.21], -3.02 [-1.31 to -4.74], and -8.59 [-2.00 to -15.2] ml/min per 1.73 m(2) per year in the no, mild, and moderate-to-severe nocturnal hypoxemia groups, respectively; P=0.003). Nocturnal hypoxemia remained a significant predictor of decline in estimated GFR after adjustment for various baseline clinical factors.ConclusionsIn nonobese patients with CKD, nocturnal hypoxemia is an independent risk factor of a rapid decline in kidney function.