Safety and impact of the Mediterranean diet in patients with chronic kidney disease: a pilot randomized crossover trial.

Introduction: Emerging evidence highlights the potential advantages of the Mediterranean diet (MD) in preserving kidney function and slowing chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. However, interventional studies on the MD are scarce in East Asian populations.

Methods: This randomized crossover trial aimed to assess the safety and short-term impact of the Mediterranean Proper Optimal Balance (MEDi-POB) diet in Korean patients with stage 3-4 CKD.

Impact of Blood Pressure on Allograft Function and Survival in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

The optimal target blood pressure for kidney transplant (KT) patients remains unclear. We included 808 KT patients from the KNOW-KT as a discovery set, and 1,294 KT patients from the KOTRY as a validation set. The main exposures were baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 1 year after KT and time-varying SBP.

Glomerulonephritis following COVID-19 infection or vaccination: a multicenter study in South Korea.

Background: Despite the widespread impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) and vaccination in South Korea, our understanding of kidney diseases following these events remains limited. We aimed to address this gap by investigating the characteristics of glomerular diseases following the COVID-19 infection and vaccination in South Korea.

Methods: Data from multiple centers were used to identify de novo glomerulonephritis (GN) cases with suspected onset following COVID-19 infection or vaccination.

Plasma Levels of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Adverse Kidney Outcomes.

Rationale & Objective: Many studies have reported polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as significant predictors of cardiovascular disease, but little is known about the relationship between PUFA levels and chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study explored this relationship among individuals with and without CKD.

Study Design: Prospective observational cohort study.

Donor fat-to-muscle ratio and kidney transplant outcomes: A proposition of metabolic memory.

Aims: The impact of donor abdominal fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR) on kidney transplant (KT) outcomes was assessed. Given the transient nature of the donor's metabolic environment in transplant recipients, this study investigated the capacity of body composition to induce metabolic memory effects.

Materials And Methods: KT patients (n = 895) who received allografts from living donors (2003-2013) were included.

Findings from the KNOW-CKD Study indicate that higher systolic blood pressure time in target range is associated with a lower risk of chronic kidney disease progression.

Time-in-target range (TTR) of systolic blood pressure (SBP) is determined by the proportion of time during which SBP remains within a defined optimal range. TTR has emerged as a useful metric for assessing SBP control over time. However, it is uncertain if SBP-TTR can predict the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Proteinuria, measured or estimated albuminuria for risk prediction in patients with chronic kidney disease?

Background: Although albuminuria is the gold standard for defining chronic kidney disease (CKD), total proteinuria has also been widely used in real-world clinical practice. Moreover, the superiority of the prognostic performance of albuminuria over proteinuria in patients with CKD remains inconclusive. Therefore, we aimed to compare the predictive performances of albuminuria and proteinuria in these patients.

Non-invasive chronic kidney disease risk stratification tool derived from retina-based deep learning and clinical factors.

Despite the importance of preventing chronic kidney disease (CKD), predicting high-risk patients who require active intervention is challenging, especially in people with preserved kidney function. In this study, a predictive risk score for CKD (Reti-CKD score) was derived from a deep learning algorithm using retinal photographs. The performance of the Reti-CKD score was verified using two longitudinal cohorts of the UK Biobank and Korean Diabetic Cohort.

Predictive performance of the new race-free Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations for kidney outcome in Korean patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: The new Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations without a race coefficient have gained recognition across the United States. We aimed to test whether these new equations performed well in Korean patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: This study included 2,149 patients with CKD G1-G5 without kidney replacement therapy from the Korean Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients with CKD (KNOW-CKD).

Association Between Proton Pump Inhibitor Exposure and Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Surgery.

Objective: To evaluate the association of preoperative proton pump inhibitor (PPI) exposure with incident acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery.

Patients And Methods: The Severance cardiac surgery cohort included 9860 cardiac surgery patients aged 18 years or older. The National Health Insurance Service-senior cohort included 2933 patients aged 60 years or older who underwent cardiac surgery.

Association of short-term and long-term weight loss with the risk of major adverse cardiovascular disease: Community-based cohort study.

Background: This study evaluated temporal association of changes in BMI over time with major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) in Korean middle-aged adults.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2002, 6855 individuals from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study were included and followed up until 2014. The main predictor was the change in BMI determined using group-based trajectory modelling (decreasing, stable, and increasing) from the baseline to 4-, 6-, and 8-years of follow-up.

Urinary Sodium-to-Potassium Ratio and Incident Chronic Kidney Disease: Results From the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study.

Objective: To evaluate the association of sodium-potassium intake balance on kidney function.

Patients And Methods: Data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study were used. The participants were enrolled between June 1, 2001, and January 31, 2003, and were followed-up until December 31, 2016.

Associations among Alzheimer disease, depressive disorder, and risk of end-stage kidney disease in elderly people.

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) and depressive disorder (DD) are prevalent among elderly end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients. However, whether preexisting mental health disorders increase the risk of ESKD is not well understood. The risk of incident ESKD in patients with or without underlying AD or DD was evaluated in a nationwide cohort of elderly people in Republic of Korea.

Association of statin treatment with hepatocellular carcinoma risk in end-stage kidney disease patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

Statin use in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients are not encouraged due to low cardioprotective effects. Although the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a frequently occurring cancer in East Asia, is elevated in ESKD patients, the relationship between statins and HCC is not known despite its possible chemopreventive effect. The relationship between statin use and HCC development in ESKD patients with chronic hepatitis was evaluated.

Association of coronary artery calcium with adverse cardiovascular outcomes and death in patients with chronic kidney disease: results from the KNOW-CKD.

Background: In East Asian countries, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have lower cardiovascular risk profiles and experience fewer cardiovascular events (CVEs) than those in Western countries. Thus the clinical predictive performance of well-known risk factors warrants further testing in this population.

Methods: The KoreaN cohort study for Outcome in patients With Chronic Kidney Disease (KNOW-CKD) is a multicenter, prospective observational study.

Clinical significance of hemodialysis quality of care indicators in very elderly patients with end stage kidney disease.

Introduction: Improvement in life expectancy has increased the number of very elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis. However, it is not clear which quality measures for hemodialysis should be employed in this population. Therefore, in this paper we investigated the association between major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) indicators of hemodialysis quality in very elderly patients.

Exercise reduces the risk of chronic kidney disease in individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A nationwide cohort study.

Aims: Recent studies of individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have indicated benefits of exercise in improving outcomes. We investigated whether exercise reduces the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals with NAFLD.

Methods: A total of 7275 participants from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) cohort, and 40,418 participants with NAFLD from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) cohort were included for the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, respectively.

Association Between Systolic Blood Pressure Variability and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Korean Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: Findings From KNOW-CKD.

Background Whether visit-to-visit systolic blood pressure (SBP) variability can predict major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with chronic kidney disease is unclear. Methods and Results We investigated the relationship between SDs of visit-to-visit SBP variability during the first year of enrollment and MACE among 1575 participants from KNOW-CKD (Korean Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease). Participants were categorized into 3 groups according to tertiles of visit-to-visit SBP variability (SD).

Coronary Artery Calcification Score and the Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: An elevated coronary artery calcification score (CACS) is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk in patients with CKD. However, the relationship between CACS and CKD progression has not been elucidated.

Methods: We studied 1936 participants with CKD (stages G1-G5 without kidney replacement therapy) enrolled in the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With CKD.

External validation of the international prediction tool in Korean patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy.

Background: The International IgA Nephropathy Prediction Tool has been recently developed to estimate the progression risk of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). This study aimed to evaluate the clinical performance of this prediction tool in a large IgAN cohort in Korea.

Methods: The study cohort was comprised of 2,064 patients with biopsy-proven IgAN from four medical centers between March 2012 and September 2021.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and risk of incident chronic kidney disease: A nationwide cohort study.

Aims: The recently proposed metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been suggested to better reflect the metabolic components of fatty liver disease (FLD), compared to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study investigated whether MAFLD identifies a higher proportion of individuals at risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: 268,946 participants aged 40-64 years, who underwent National Health Insurance Service health examinations between 2009 and 2015 were included.

Colchicine use and the risk of CKD progression: a multicentre nested case-control study.

Objectives: Despite the preclinical evidence on protective effects of colchicine against kidney fibrosis, whether colchicine could delay the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in humans remains unknown. This study examined the association between long-term colchicine use and risk of adverse kidney outcome in patients with CKD who were treated for hyperuricaemia or chronic gout.

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, nested, case-control study in three Korean hospitals.

Dialysis Adequacy and Risk of Dementia in Elderly Hemodialysis Patients.

Dementia is prevalent among elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis. However, the association between dialysis adequacy and the risk of dementia is uncertain. A total of 10,567 patients aged >65 years undergoing maintenance hemodialysis who participated in a national hemodialysis quality assessment program were analyzed.

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and adverse clinical outcomes in chronic kidney disease: Results from the KNOW-CKD.

Background And Aims: The optimal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level to prevent cardiovascular disease in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients remains unknown. This study aimed to explore the association of LDL-C levels with adverse cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in Korean CKD patients and determine the validity of "the lower, the better" strategy for statin intake.

Methods And Results: A total of 1886 patients from the KoreaN cohort study for Outcome in patients With CKD (KNOW-CKD) were included.