The following is a summary of “Associations between depressive and anxiety symptoms and incident kidney failure in patients with diabetic nephropathy,” published in the February 2025 issue of BMC Nephrology by Qin et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study on the link between depressive and anxiety symptoms and kidney failure in diabetic nephropathy (DN).
They enrolled 241 patients suffering from type 2 diabetics with biopsy-proven DN. They used the Huaxi Emotional-Distress Index (HEI) to assess depression and anxiety on admission. Patients were divided into HEI ≤8 (without depression and anxiety) and HEI >8 (with depression and anxiety). The endpoint was progression to kidney failure. They used Cox proportional hazard analysis to assess risk factors.
The results showed that 23 patients (9.5%) had HEI >8. Compared to HEI ≤8, they had more severe proteinuria, higher systolic blood pressure, and lower baseline eGFR and serum albumin. During a 28-month median follow-up, 89 patients (36.9%) progressed to kidney failure. After multivariable adjustment, HEI >8 was associated with higher risk (HR 1.825, 95% CI 1.050–3.172).
Investigators found that depressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with a higher risk of kidney failure in patients with DN, highlighting the need for early screening and intervention.
Source: bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-025-03983-x
