(Press-News.org) A new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium (CKD-PC) found that in general chronic kidney disease is similarly associated with a higher risk of death and end stage renal disease for both women and men. The findings were released online in advance of publication in BMJ.
Chronic kidney disease affects 10 to 16 percent of adults worldwide. Current thresholds for chronic kidney disease are based on two kidney measures, estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and albuminuria, a measure of protein in the urine. Because mildly reduced GFR is more common in women, and both kidney measures are affected by muscle mass, some have suggested that the definition of chronic kidney disease should be sex-specific.
According to the study, the overall risks of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality were higher in men at all levels of kidney function. However, both sexes experienced increased risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and end stage renal disease with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate and higher albuminuria, with only a slight difference in the strength of relationships between sexes.
"Our results contrast with some previous studies suggesting that the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate with mortality is weaker in women. We found the association between chronic kidney disease and mortality risk to be as strong in women as in men. Low estimated glomerular filtration rate or albuminuria should be considered at least as potent a risk factor in women as it is in men," said Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, MHS, the Consortium's principal investigator and professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Epidemiology.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 2 million participants from 46 cohort studies. The study participants included a diverse population from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Fifty-four percent of the study populations were women.
"Associations of estimated glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria with mortality and renal failure by sex: a meta-analysis" was written by the CKD-PC, which includes approximately 200 collaborators and data from 40 countries.
###Funding sources include the National Kidney Foundation for the CKD-PC and a variety of sources such as the National Institutes of Health, medical research councils, foundations, and industry sponsors for collaborating authors and cohorts.
Chronic kidney disease increases risk of death for both women and men
2013-01-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Researchers help confirm value of flow-diverting device for most challenging aneurysms
2013-01-30
CINCINNATI—A multi-center study supports the effectiveness of the newest technology available for the treatment of difficult, life-threatening brain aneurysms. The technology, the Pipeline embolization device, is a flow diverter that redirects blood flow away from wide-necked or giant aneurysms that cannot be treated in more conventional ways.
Andrew Ringer, MD, director of the division of cerebrovascular surgery and professor of neurosurgery and radiology at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine, led the Cincinnati portion of the study, which was published ...
Scientists uncover previously unknown mechanism of memory formation
2013-01-30
JUPITER, FL, January 30, 2013 – It takes a lot to make a memory. New proteins have to be synthesized, neuron structures altered. While some of these memory-building mechanisms are known, many are not. Some recent studies have indicated that a unique group of molecules called microRNAs, known to control production of proteins in cells, may play a far more important role in memory formation than previously thought.
Now, a new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has for the first time confirmed a critical role for microRNAs in the ...
Study: Alternate walking and running to save energy, maintain endurance
2013-01-30
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Forget "slow and steady wins the race." A new study shows that, at least sometimes, the best way to conserve energy and reach your destination on time is to alternate between walking and running—whether your goal is the bus stop or a marathon finish line.
In the January 30, 2013 issue of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers examined how people budget their time as they travel on foot to reach a destination at a particular appointed time. The study found that when people have neither too much time nor too little time to reach their destination, ...
In-brain monitoring shows memory network
2013-01-30
Working with patients with electrodes implanted in their brains, researchers at the University of California, Davis, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have shown for the first time that areas of the brain work together at the same time to recall memories. The unique approach promises new insights into how we remember details of time and place.
"Previous work has focused on one region of the brain at a time," said Arne Ekstrom, assistant professor at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience. "Our results show that memory recall involves ...
New study shows 'just a bite' will satisfy
2013-01-30
How much chocolate would you need to eat to be satisfied? Less than half as much as you think, according to this recently published Cornell University snacking study. Using chocolate chips, apple pie, and potato chips, researchers Ellen van Kleef, Mitsuru Shimizu, and Brian Wansink designed a study to determine if people who were given smaller portions of snack foods would feel hungrier or satisfied fifteen minutes after eating.
Two groups with different portion sizes were tested. The larger portion size group was given 100g of chocolate, 200g of apple pie, and 80g ...
Cornell engineers solve a biological mystery and boost artificial intelligence
2013-01-30
ITHACA, N.Y. – By simulating 25,000 generations of evolution within computers, Cornell University engineering and robotics researchers have discovered why biological networks tend to be organized as modules – a finding that will lead to a deeper understanding of the evolution of complexity. (Proceedings of the Royal Society, Jan. 30, 2013.)
The new insight also will help evolve artificial intelligence, so robot brains can acquire the grace and cunning of animals.
From brains to gene regulatory networks, many biological entities are organized into modules – dense clusters ...
Going trayless study shows student impact
2013-01-30
If you need any evidence of the impact of student research on life at American University's campus, look no further than something that's missing.
Trays.
Following a 2009 study at American University's main dining hall that showed a significant reduction in food waste and dishes used when trays were removed, trays have mostly gone the way of beanies and sock hops.
Now, for the first time, a new paper coauthored by AU professor Kiho Kim and AU environmental studies graduate Stevia Morawski, provides hard evidence of big energy savings as well as a 32 percent reduction ...
Scripps Research Institute study shows how brain cells shape temperature preferences
2013-01-30
JUPITER, FL, January 29, 2013 – While the wooly musk ox may like it cold, fruit flies definitely do not. They like it hot, or at least warm. In fact, their preferred optimum temperature is very similar to that of humans—76 degrees F.
Scientists have known that a type of brain cell circuit helps regulate a variety of innate and learned behavior in animals, including their temperature preferences. What has been a mystery is whether or not this behavior stems from a specific set of neurons (brain cells) or overlapping sets.
Now, a new study from The Scripps Research Institute ...
Mistrust of government often deters older adults from HIV testing
2013-01-30
One out of every four people living with HIV/AIDS is 50 or older, yet these older individuals are far more likely to be diagnosed when they are already in the later stages of infection. Such late diagnoses put their health, and the health of others, at greater risk than would have been the case with earlier detection.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 43 percent of HIV-positive people between the ages of 50 and 55, and 51 percent of those 65 or older, develop full-blown AIDS within a year of their diagnosis, and these older adults account ...
'Super' enzyme protects against dangers of oxygen
2013-01-30
Just like a comic book super hero, you could say that the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has a secret identity. Since its discovery in 1969, scientists believed SOD1's only role was to protect living cells against damage from free radicals. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered that SOD1 protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism. The results of their research were published January 17, 2013, in the journal Cell.
Transforming oxygen to energy for growth is key to life for all living cells, which happens ...