Chronic kidney disease linked to higher stroke risk
Hazard ratios, measures of relative risk, were 1.61 for stroke and 1.89 for early-onset stroke with chronic kidney disease versus without it.
Our read
Biomarkers- Studied:
- Cohort study of 381,886 people with kidney function, albuminuria, and follow-up data
- What changed:
- Stroke risk was higher with chronic kidney disease than without it (hazard ratio 1.61)
- The catch:
- People missing kidney function, albuminuria, or follow-up data were left out
- In the record:
- The 3rd paper on WFDC2 with results in people; 21 on record in all.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
The 381,886 participants in a population-based cohort study had kidney function, urine protein and follow-up data available. Chronic kidney disease was associated with higher risks of stroke and early-onset stroke. More severe kidney disease was linked to higher risk.
Brain imaging also linked kidney disease present at the start of the study to a greater burden of white matter lesions—abnormal areas in tissue that connects brain regions. Kidney disease was also associated with smaller brain volumes and lower brain blood flow before a clinically apparent stroke. Blood protein analyses identified five candidate proteins associated with stroke among participants with chronic kidney disease. One, a circulating protein called WFDC2, may help refine stroke risk estimates, the authors concluded.
Why it matters
Stroke and changes in brain structure bear on health as people age. Identifying vulnerability before a stroke could help focus efforts to assess risk.
Caveats
The cohort compared people with and without chronic kidney disease, so other health differences between these groups may have contributed to the stroke and brain-imaging links.
The paper
Chronic kidney disease and long-term risk of cerebrovascular vulnerability
Capital Medical University
European Heart Journal Open, Nov 12, 2026, CC BY-NC
Comments
Be the first to comment.