Candidate Gene Analysis of Mortality in Dialysis Patients

BACKGROUND: Dialysis patients have high cardiovascular mortality risk. This study aimed to investigate the association between SNPs of genes involved in vascular processes and mortality in dialysis patients. METHODS: Forty two SNPs in 25 genes involved in endothelial function, vascular remodeling, cell proliferation, inflammation, coagulation and calcium/phosphate metabolism were genotyped in 1330 incident dialysis patients. The effect of SNPs on 5-years cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality was investigated. RESULTS: The mortality rate was 114/1000 person-years and 49.4% of total mortality was cardiovascular. After correction for multiple testing, VEGF rs699947 was associated with all-cause mortality (HR1.48, 95% CI 1.14–1.92). The other SNPs were not associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further evidence that a SNP in the VEGF gene may contribute to the comorbid conditions of dialysis patients. Future studies should unravel the underlying mechanisms responsible for the increase in mortality in these patients.