Original Investigation
Association of Longitudinal High-Sensitivity Troponin T With Mortality in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

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Abstract

Background

Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) is associated with mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the association between longitudinal cTnT measurements and survival has not previously been assessed.

Objectives

This study determined whether various parameterizations of longitudinal cTnT measurements were associated with patient survival in the older population with advanced CKD.

Methods

The EQUAL (European QUALity) study is an observational prospective cohort study that includes subjects with stage 4-5 CKD aged ≥65 years and not on dialysis. The study includes 176 participants in Sweden, where longitudinal information of cTnT was collected. The study uses joint models for longitudinal and time-to-event data to assess the longitudinal association between cTnT and survival.

Results

There were 927 cTnT measurements (median 6 per patient) collected over a median follow-up of 2.4 years. The overall 5-year survival was 57% (95% CI: 46%-69%). Longitudinally measured cTnT was associated with mortality risk, with every SD increase in cTnT, at any time point, associated with a 3.3-fold increase in mortality risk (HR: 3.3; 95% CI: 2.5-4.6). The slope of the cTnT trajectory was also associated with increased mortality risk (HR: 3.2; 95% CI: 2.0-6.0), as was the area under the cTnT trajectory (HR: 4.2; 95% CI: 2.6-7.2), which reflected the cumulative cTnT exposure.

Conclusions

Longitudinally measured cTnT is independently associated with mortality risk in older patients with stage 4 and 5 CKD, which suggests that monitoring patients with cTnT could be a valuable tool for the identification of subjects with a high mortality risk.

Key Words

chronic kidney disease
joint model
survival
troponin T

Abbreviations and Acronyms

CKD
chronic kidney disease
cTnT
cardiac troponin T
eGFR
estimated glomerular filtration rate
ERA-EDTA
European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplantation Association

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