Skin sodium content more closely linked to left ventricular mass than total body overhydration
FRIDAY, Feb. 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), skin sodium content is associated with left ventricular mass, according to a study published online Feb. 2 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Markus P. Schneider, M.D., from Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnerg in Germany, and colleagues used 23Na-magnetic resonance imaging to determine skin sodium content at the level of the calf in 99 patients with mild-to-moderate CKD. Total body overhydration, 24-hour blood pressure (BP), and left ventricular mass were also assessed.
The researchers observed a correlation for skin sodium content, but not total body overhydration, with systolic BP (r = 0.325; P = 0.002). There was a stronger correlation for skin sodium content than total body overhydration with left ventricular mass (r = 0.559; P < 0.001 versus r = 0.346; P < 0.001; P < 0.01 between the two associations). Skin sodium content was a strong variable accounting for left ventricular mass in linear regression analysis, which was not affected by BP or total body overhydration.
“In conclusion, we found skin sodium content to be closely linked to left ventricular mass in patients with CKD,” the authors write. “Interventions that reduce skin sodium content might improve cardiovascular outcomes in these patients.”
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