Low Parathyroid Hormone Versus Secondary Hyperparathyroidism and Survival in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Propensity-Matched Analysis

IntroductionLow serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) are very common in patients undergoing hemodialysis. However, it remains unclear which of these has a lower mortality. ObjectiveIn this study, we compared outcomes between hemodialysis patients with low PTH and those with SHPT. MethodsThis was a multi-center, retrospective, matched cohort study. Median intact PTH (iPTH) was used as the cutoff for allocating participants to low PTH (iPTH<100 pg/mL) and SHPT groups (iPTH >= 600 pg/mL). Sex, diabetes, age, and dialysis vintage were matched between the groups. The primary outcome was all-cause death at 72 months. ResultsThe study cohort comprised 2282 patients (1166 in each study group). Prior to matching, the primary outcome occurred in 429/1166 patients (36.79%) in the low PTH group and in 284/1116 (25.45%) in the SHPT group. There were no significant differences in all-cause death between the groups according to multivariable Cox regression (P=0.423). The hazard ratio for low PTH versus SHPT was 1.08 (95% confidence interval, 0.90-1.30). Propensity matching created 619 pairs of patients. Baseline characteristics, including age, sex, diabetes, and dialysis vintage were comparable between the groups. The primary outcome occurred in 195/619 patients (31.50%) in the low PTH group and in 193/619 (31.18%) in the SHPT group. There were no significant differences in all-cause death between the groups according to multivariable Cox regression (P=0.43). The adjusted hazard ratio for low PTH versus SHPT was 1.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.87-1.39). ConclusionsHemodialysis patients with low PTH have similar all-cause death rates to the rates for those with SHPT.