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. 2015 Apr 20;10(4):e0123072. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123072

Table 1. Patient characteristics and outcomes, total cohort and by hepcidin tertile.

hepcidin tertile
total cohort <44 ng/ml 44–76 ng/ml >76 ng/ml
n = 249 n = 83 n = 84 n = 82 p-value
age, yrs 66.5 (57.0–73.2) 67.6 (57.2–73.2) 66.0 (55.4–72.5) 66.3 (58.1–74.2) 0.9
gender, male 52.6% 42.2% 52.4% 63.4% 0.02
body mass index, kg/m2 29.4 (27.0–33.2) 29.3 (26.8–34.1) 29.6 (27.8–32.9) 29.4 (26.4–32.9) 0.8
Diabetes mellitus 0.5
Type 1 10.0% 12.1% 7.1% 11.0%
Type 2 90.0% 88.9% 92.9% 89.0%
duration of diabetes, yrs 10 (4–21.5) 10 (3–19) 12 (4–24) 10 (4–22) 0.5
diabetic retinopathy a 32.1% 28.9% 33.3% 34.2% 0.7
history of CVD b 32.1% 37.4% 32.1% 26.8% 0.4
smoking c 27.4% 24.4% 33.3% 24.4% 0.3
hypertension a 81.9% 73.5% 85.7% 86.6% 0.049
blood pressure, mmHg
systolic 143 ± 22 142 ± 20 143 ± 23 144 ± 22 0.9
diastolic 81 ± 14 80 ± 15 81 ± 14 80 ± 12 0.8
hyperlipidemia a 42.2% 32.5% 42.9% 51.2% 0.052
Laboratory
GFR, ml/min/1.73m2 51 (30–71) 53 (39–76) 51 (31–70) 44 (25–70) 0.07
CKD d 0.05
stage G1 6.3% 6.6% 4.9% 7.4%
stage G2 30.5% 29.0% 35.4% 27.2%
stage G3a 18.0% 25.0% 15.9% 13.6%
stage G3b 18.8% 23.7% 19.5% 13.6%
stage G4 19.7% 13.2% 20.7% 24.7%
stage G5 6.7% 2.6% 3.7% 13.6%
proteinuria, mg/day 186 (107–1145) 156 (94–530) 182 (119–879) 300 (127–1605) 0.10
HbA1c, % 6.9 (6.4–8.0) 6.9 (6.4–7.8) 7.1 (6.4–8.1) 6.9 (6.4–8.1) 0.9
C-reactive protein, mg/dL 0.34 (0.14–0.78) 0.34 (0.16–0.63) 0.25 (0.11–0.90) 0.37 (0.19–0.99) 0.4
albumin, g/dL 4.1 (3.8–4.4) 4.1 (3.8–4.4) 4.1 (3.9–4.4) 4.2 (3.8–4.6) 0.8
total cholesterol, mg/dL 198 (176–223) 198 (176–221) 194 (174–209) 199 (177–227) 0.6
hemoglobin, g/L 131 ± 20 132 ± 19 133 ± 20 129 ± 19 0.3
anemia e 37.9% 31.1% 33.3% 49.4% 0.04
ferritin, μg/L 149 (71–244) 65 (38–112) 154 (105–223) 260 (159–363) <0.001
EPO, U/L 13.5 (9.2–18.4) 15.2 (9.6–23.7) 12.8 (9.1–16.6) 13.4 (9.3–16.7) 0.04
hepcidin, ng/ml 62.0 (33.0–83.0) 26 (16.8–33) 62 (55–69) 96 (83–120) <0.001
Outcomes
death 19.7% 22.9% 13.1% 23.2% 0.18
initiation of RRT 14.1% 4.8% 15.5% 22.0% 0.006
doubling of SCr 2.0% 2.6% 2.9% 1.6% 0.9
progression of CKD (RRT or doubling of SCr) 16.1% 7.4% 18.1% 23.2% 0.02

Legend: data are means ± standard deviation, medians (interquartile range) and proportions (%); p-value across hepcidin tertiles; abbreviations: EPO, endogenous erythropoietin; CVD, cardiovascular disease, GFR, glomerular filtration rate; TIA, transient ischemic attack; SCr, serum creatinine; RRT, renal replacement therapy.

a self-reported history or as specified in the patient’s chart

b self-reported history of angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, stroke /TIA, or as specified in the patient’s chart

c current smoker or stopped within the past 5 yrs

d CKD stages G1 and G2 defined as proteinuria and GFR >90 ml/min and 60–90 ml/min, respectively

e hemoglobin <120 g/L in women and <135 g/L in men