Fasting glucose levels in predicting 1-year all-cause mortality in patients who do not have diabetes and are on maintenance hemodialysis.

Chronic inflammation and malnutrition relate to increased risks for cardiovascular death. This study compared fasting glucose levels (FGL) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) with malnutrition and inflammation in nondiabetic maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients to investigate the adverse affects and risks for mortality. In total, 693 MHD patients were enrolled in this study and followed up for 1 yr. Geographic, hematologic, biochemical, and dialysis-related data were collected. According to 1997 and 2003 definitions, all patients were classified into three groups: Diabetic, nondiabetic with IFG, and nondiabetic with normal FGL. More diabetic and nondiabetic with IFG group patients were malnourished (chi(2) = 24.55, P < 0.0001) and had inflammatory changes (chi(2) = 9.32, P = 0.0095) than those with normal FGL. The IFG group had higher high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and ferritin and lower serum albumin, creatinine levels, and normalized protein catabolic rate than the normal FGL group. Age and parameters of nutrition and inflammation were associated with FGL. Stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that FGL were negatively associated with serum albumin (P = 0.0026) and positively correlated with Log high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (P = 0.0004) in nondiabetic MHD patients. In addition, after 1 yr of follow-up, Cox multivariate analysis demonstrated that, after adjustment for other significant related factors, FGL (relative risk 1.049; 95% confidence interval 1.007 to 1.093; P = 0.0232) or presence of IFG (relative risk 3.798; 95% confidence interval 1.168 to 12.344; P = 0.0265) was a significant risk factor for 1-yr all-cause mortality of these patients. On the basis of these findings, basal FGL or presence of IFG, a preventive and treatable status, plays an important role in inflammation, malnutrition, and short-term mortality of nondiabetic MHD patients.