Acute kidney failure leads to increased risk of dementia

Acute kidney failure is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to a new study published in the journal neurology by researchers at the Karolinska Institutet and others.

Acute kidney injury (AKI), a sudden deterioration in kidney function, is relatively common in the elderly and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have suggested a possible link between AKI and brain injury.

The current study investigated the link between acute kidney failure and various forms of dementia. The researchers analyzed data from more than 300,000 people over 65 years of age from the Stockholm CREAtinine Measurement (SCREAM) project in Sweden. About one in four participants experienced at least one episode of acute kidney failure during an average follow-up period of 12 years, and 16 percent were diagnosed with dementia.

People with acute kidney failure had a 49 percent higher risk of developing any form of dementia. When each type of dementia was considered separately, the increased risk for Lewy body dementia or dementia caused by Parkinson's disease was 88 percent, for vascular dementia 47 percent, and for Alzheimer's disease 31 percent. The increased risk was even higher for people with severe kidney damage requiring hospitalization or outpatient treatment.

“Our findings suggest that AKI is not an isolated event that affects kidney function, but may have broader effects, particularly on brain health,” says Hong Xu, assistant professor at the Department of Neurobiology, Nursing Sciences and Society at Karolinska Institutet and lead author of the article.

Identifying acute kidney failure as a risk factor for dementia may lead to earlier intervention, preventive treatment and better patient care.”

Juan Jesus Carrero, Professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Karolinska Institutet and last author of the article

The next phase of research will focus on exploring the biological mechanisms that link AKI to dementia. Researchers will also investigate whether different medications, lifestyle changes and monitoring procedures after acute kidney injury can reduce the risk of developing dementia.

The study was funded by StratNeuro, CIMED, AI Foundations, and the Swedish Research Council. Corresponding author Yang Xu, a researcher at Peking University Health Science Center and Karolinska Institutet, received funding from the Young Scientists Fund and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The authors have declared that there are no conflicts of interest related to this study.