Serum N-terminal Pro-brain Natriuretic Peptide Level is Associated with the Development of Chronic Kidney Diseases in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Background and Objective: Previous studies revealed the association between serum Nterminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level and chronic kidney diseases (CKD) in general population. However, little is known about the association between serum NT-proBNP level and incident CKD in patients with type 2 diabetes. Thus, we investigated the impact of serum NT-proBNP level on incident CKD in patients with type 2 diabetes. Method: We enrolled 211 type 2 diabetic patients without CKD in this cohort study. CKD was diagnosed as estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2). We divided the patients into three groups according to the tertiles of serum NT-proBNP level. Univariates and multivariate hazard ratios (HRs) for the incident CKD were calculated by Cox regression analyses. Results: Over the median follow-up period of 7 years, 56 patients developed incident CKD. Log NT-proBNP was positively associated with incident CKD (HR 3.70, 95% CI 1.72-8.18, p < 0.001). Compared with the lowest level of serum NT-proBNP tertile (<= 36 pg/mL), the highest level of serum NT-proBNP tertile (>= 84 pg/mL) showed increased risk of incident CKD after adjusting age, sex, body mass index, hemoglobin A1c, creatinine, smoking, usage of hypertension drug and urinary albumin excretion at baseline examination (adjusted HR2.37, 95% CI 1.09-5.48, p = 0.028). Conclusion: Serum NT-proBNP level is an independent biomarker for incident CKD in patients with type 2 diabetes.