Skin Autofluorescence and Mortality in Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis

Skin autofluorescence (SAF) is a proven prognostic factor of mortality in hemodialysis patients. Traditional and nontraditional risk factors are almost equivalent in peritoneal dialysis (PD), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death. Moreover, peritoneal glucose absorption accelerates the degenerative processes of connective tissues as in diabetes. In our study, we examined the predictive value of SAF for total mortality in the PD population. Data were collected from 198 prevalently adult Caucasian PD patients. One hundred twenty-six patients (mean age 66.2 y, men [n = 73], diabetes ratio 75/126) had anamnestic CVD (coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease). Initially, we evaluated factors affecting SAF and CVD by multivariate linear regression. Survival rates were estimated by recording clinical and demographic data associated with mortality during a 36-month follow-up using the Kaplan–Meier method. Analyses were further stratified based on the presence or absence of CVD and SAF levels above or below the upper tercile 3.61 arbitrary units. Skin autofluorescence was influenced by CVD (P < 0.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.1–0.5) and white blood cell counts (P < 0.001, 95% CI 0.031–0.117). According to the Spearman correlation, SAF correlated with peritoneal cumulative glucose exposure (P = 0.02) and elapsed time in PD (P = 0.008). CVD correlated with age (P < 0.001, 95% CI 1.24–1.65) and diabetes (P < 0.001, 95% CI 2.58–10.66). More deaths were observed in the high SAF group than in the low SAF group (34/68 vs 44/130; P = 0.04). Comparing the CVD(−) low SAF group survival (mean 33.9 mos, standard error [SE] 1.39) to CVD(+) low SAF (mean 30.5 mos, SE 1.37, P = 0.03) and to CVD(+) high SAF group (mean 27.1 mos, SE 1.83, P = 0.001), the difference was significant. In conclusion, among PD patients, SAF values over 3.61 arbitrary units seem to be a predictor of mortality. The relationship among peritoneal glucose exposure, CVD, and diabetes suggests its suitability to characterize systemic cumulative glucose load in this patient population.