Higher serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels are associated with significantly worse renal and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) without diabetes. This finding comes from an analysis of the PREDICT trial.
The study evaluated 444 patients with advanced CKD and renal anemia. Over an 18-21 month follow-up, nearly half experienced adverse renal composite outcomes, and 10% faced a composite of cardiovascular events or death. Patients in the highest LDH quartile showed more than double the risk of adverse renal outcomes and nearly triple the risk of cardiovascular events or death compared to those in the lowest quartile.
LDH, an inexpensive and widely available biomarker, may offer valuable prognostic information in this patient group. Elevated levels could indicate tissue damage, hypoxia, or inflammation contributing to disease progression. The findings suggest LDH's potential utility in risk stratification for patients nearing end-stage kidney disease.