Younger IBD patients at increased risk of chronic kidney disease, finds study

A recent study found that inflammatory bowel disease is associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease among younger patients. The study was published in the journal "Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology" 2020.

Renal involvement is one of the extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease. They are caused because of the same immunological mechanism that causes the intestinal inflammatory diseases or as an independent disease or as side effects of the drugs. As it is not clear of what factors cause the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); increased risk has been inconsistently associated with the use of 5-aminosalicylates (5-ASAs).

Vajravelu and other researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and from the University of Colorado conducted a study to calculate the relative hazard of Chronic Kidney Disease among the patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. They also aimed to determine if medications taken for IBD were associated with a change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

The authors performed a retrospective cohort study by collecting data from The Health Improvement Network. After matching for age, sex, and practice there were 17807 patients with IBD and 63466 patients without IBD. The relative hazard of CKD, stages 3 through 5D, in patients with IBD and the association of 5-ASAs, azathioprine, and methotrexate with a change in eGFR was also calculated.