Mortality Increases as Renal Function Declines, Regardless of Comorbid Diabetes or Hypertension

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with mortality, cardiovascular disease, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but most studies on the prognostic implications of increasing albuminuria and decreasing estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) are confounded by the high prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in populations with CKD. To determine the influence of hypertension and diabetes on risk estimates derived from CKD markers, researchers performed two parallel meta-analyses of combined data from 45 cohort studies that involved more than 1 million patients, each with baseline data on eGFR, albuminuria, and presence of diabetes or hypertension, and outcome data on mortality or ESRD.

Low eGFR and high albuminuria were associated s…