Patterns and Predictors of Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease from The Dialysis Units of Mardan Region

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a prevalent and serious complication associated with kidney disease, which increases morbidity, diminishes the quality of life, and impairs the prognosis in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Knowledge of the prevalence and predictors of anemia in CKD is important for early management and better patient care. This study aimed to characterize the prevalence of anemia by CKD stage and to identify correlations with clinical and demographic factors.

Methods: The present cross-sectional study involved 267 CKD patients with anemia, aged 30-77 years, who were hospitalised in the Department of Medicine. Anemia was then categorized as microcytic (MCV 100). Demographic and comorbid conditions and clinical characteristics were obtained. Associations and predictors were tested using chi-square tests and logistic regression.

Results: They were aged 43.24 ± 13.36 years, and 50.2% of them were ≤50 years. The proportion of males was 52.1%. The most common cause was normocytic anemia (40.8%), followed by microcytic anemia (39.7%) and macrocytic anemia (19.5%). Univariate analysis indicated anemia pattern was correlated with diabetes mellitus (p = 0.001) and hypertension (p = 0.001). However, in multivariate logistic regression, only age ≤ 50 years was an independent predictor of lower risk of microcytic anemia (OR = 0.441, p = 0.025), and diabetes and hypertension were not independently correlated with anemia type.

Conclusion: Among CKD patients, normocytic anemia is the commonest type, followed by microcytic and macrocytic. Diabetes and hypertension are strongly, although not independently, associated with anemia patterns in unadjusted IRT analysis. Both early identification and specific treatment of the underlying causes, such as erythropoietin deficiency or iron status,  are necessary to prevent complications in this high-risk population.