Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Anemia is a major clinical problem in patients receiving dialysis therapy and has a substantial impact on morbidity and mortality. Iron metabolism is impaired in chronic kidney disease. Hepcidin functions as a key regulator of iron metabolism. The aims of this study were to compare the serum pro‐hepcidin levels in patients with either peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD) and control subjects and to evaluate pro‐hepcidin and C‐reactive protein (CRP), iron parameters, and hemoglobin levels in PD and HD patients with normal serum CRP levels.
METHODS
We studied 85 PD patients, 43 HD patients on regular follow‐up, and a control group that was comprised of 41 volunteers in this cross‐sectional study. Pro‐hepcidin and CRP were studied using commercially available kits. Iron status was assessed by measuring serum iron, transferrin saturation, and ferritin.
RESULTS
Pro‐hepcidin levels were significantly higher in dialysis patients than the control subjects (p < .001). Hemodialysis patients had higher pro‐hepcidin levels than PD patients; but, this difference was not statistically significant (393.4 ± 157.3 versus 361.3 ± 40.1, p = .19). There were no correlations between pro‐hepcidin levels and CRP, and hemoglobin level and iron parameters in PD and HD patients.
CONCLUSION
The present results suggest that dialysis therapy is associated with elevated pro‐hepcidin levels and not directly related to CRP, indices of iron metabolism, or hemoglobin levels. Peritoneal dialysis patients have relatively lower pro‐hepcidin levels than HD patients, but larger‐scale studies are needed to confirm the possibility of impact on various dialytic modalities.