Candidate Gene Analysis of Mortality in Dialysis Patients

Background Dialysis patients have high cardiovascular mortality risk. This study aimed to investigate the association between SNPs of genes involved in vascular processes and mortality in dialysis patients. Methods Forty two SNPs in 25 genes involved in endothelial function, vascular remodeling, cell proliferation, inflammation, coagulation and calcium/phosphate metabolism were genotyped in 1330 incident dialysis patients. The effect of SNPs on 5-years cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality was investigated. Results The mortality rate was 114/1000 person-years and 49.4% of total mortality was cardiovascular. After correction for multiple testing, VEGF rs699947 was associated with all-cause mortality (HR1.48, 95% CI 1.14–1.92). The other SNPs were not associated with mortality. Conclusions This study provides further evidence that a SNP in the VEGF gene may contribute to the comorbid conditions of dialysis patients. Future studies should unravel the underlying mechanisms responsible for the increase in mortality in these patients.