Self-rated health, quality of life and appetite as predictors of initiation of dialysis and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease stages 4–5: a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: Patient-reported health status, including symptom burden, functional status and quality of life, are important measures of health in patients with chronic kidney disease. We aimed to investigate patient-reported outcomes (PRO) on self-rated health, appetite, quality of life and their associations with clinical outcomes. We conducted a prospective observational cohort study. Data was collected at baseline using a PRO questionnaire. The primary outcomes were initiation of dialysis, transplantation and mortality. Kaplan–Meier curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used. RESULTS: A total of 126 patients with chronic kidney disease with an eGFR of ≤ 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) were followed for a median of 321 (range 10–523) days. Poor appetite was associated with mortality (hazard ratio 20.9, 95% CI 3.7–129.8). Initiation of dialysis was associated with low self-rated health (hazard ratio 5.2, 95% CI 1.2–24.0). Mean decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate was − 0.9 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (95% CI − 1.6 to − 0.2). Decline in self-rated health (p = 0.001) and appetite (p = 0.002) were correlated with reduction in renal function. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3472-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.