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Depression increases risks for hospitalization and death in patients with end-stage kidney disease who are on dialysis, but its effects in patients with earlier (i.e., predialysis) chronic kidney disease (CKD) are poorly understood. In this prospective cohort study involving 267 patients with CKD at a Veterans Affairs hospital, researchers assessed the effect of current major depression on a composite outcome of hospitalization, dialysis, and death. The researchers used Cox proportional hazard models to determine risk, controlled for markers of kidney disease progression (e.g., diabetes, CKD stage, hemoglobin level, albumin level), and used a well-validated, structured interview to diagnose depression.
Fifty-six patients (21%) were diagnosed…