Predictive values of four nutritional indices for adverse outcomes in patients with hypertension.

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition, evaluated by nutritional indices, is reportedly related to a poor prognosis in patients with hypertension. However, clinical evidence on which index is more suitable for predicting a kidney prognosis is limited, and it has not been evaluated in hypertension. The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the predictive values of four nutritional indices: Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI); Prognostic Nutrition Index (PNI); Triglycerides × Total cholesterol × Body weight Index (TCBI); and the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score.

METHODS

A retrospective, cohort study of 1255 hypertensive patients under care in the Fukushima Cohort Study was conducted. The primary outcome was kidney events, defined as a combination of a 50% decline in eGFR from baseline and renal failure requiring dialysis therapy or kidney transplantation. Kaplan-Meier analyses and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between the four nutritional indices and kidney events. The area under the curve (AUC) values of the receiver-operating characteristic curves were also examined to compare the predictive values of these nutritional indices.

RESULTS

Lower GNRI, lower PNI, and higher CONUT score were significantly related to a higher risk of kidney events. GNRI (AUC = 0.729, 95% confidence interval 0.681-0.777) and PNI (AUC = 0.710, 95% confidence interval 0.665-0.756) had significantly higher AUCs for kidney events than the TCBI and CONUT score.

CONCLUSIONS

GNRI and PNI showed greater predictive values for kidney events than other nutritional indices in patients with hypertension.