Impaired Fasting Glucose Linked to Higher Cardiovascular Mortality in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: Study

A new study published in the recent issue of the Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism journal which revealed that impaired fasting glucose (IFG) was independently associated with increased cardiovascular mortality among patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). These findings emphasize on the importance of regular glycemic monitoring even in non-diabetic PD populations.

This research analyzed data from 2,345 patients who received PD therapy for more than 3 months between January 2004 and July 2021 across four medical centers. The study determined whether IFG could influence long-term clinical outcomes in this patient population. Baseline health information was collected during the first 3 months of PD treatment, and IFG was defined according to WHO criteria as fasting blood glucose levels between 6.1 and 6.9 mmol/L.

Among the participants, 666 patients (28.4%) had diabetes, 209 patients (8.9%) met the criteria for IFG, and the remaining patients had normal fasting glucose levels. This study tracked the patients for an average follow-up period of 32 months, with some participants monitored for over 4 years.

During the study period, 276 deaths were recorded, which represented 11.8% of the cohort. Of these, 186 deaths were attributed to cardiovascular causes. In addition, 356 cardiovascular events were reported, which included heart-related complications.

The individuals with IFG experienced a significantly higher rate of cardiovascular mortality. Further statistical analysis using multivariate Cox regression models confirmed that IFG independently increased the risk of cardiovascular death by approximately 74%, even after adjusting for potential confounding factors. The hazard ratio for cardiovascular mortality was 1.735, which indicated a substantially elevated risk when compared to patients who maintained normal fasting glucose levels.

This study did not find significant differences in overall mortality rates or the incidence of cardiovascular events between the IFG and normoglycemic groups. Overall, these findings suggests that IFG may not increase the incidence of experiencing cardiovascular complications, while it may worsen outcomes once such complications occur.

Source:

Hu, Q., Luo, Q., Ai, J., Chen, J., Pan, J., Chen, J., Zhang, J., & Dou, X. (2026). Association between impaired fasting glucose and adverse outcomes in patients treated with peritoneal dialysis: A retrospective study from southern China. Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, 9(3), e70216. https://doi.org/10.1002/edm2.70216