B-type Natriuretic Peptide Concentrations Predict the Progression of Nondiabetic Chronic Kidney Disease: the Mild-to-Moderate Kidney Disease Study

Background: Plasma concentrations of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) are diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of heart failure and are also increased in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We examined the relevance of BNP and NT-proBNP as predictors of CKD progression.

Methods: Of 227 nondiabetic patients with mild-to-moderate renal insufficiency, 177 patients ages 18-65 years were followed in a prospective multicenter cohort study for a period of < or = 7 years. CKD progression was assessed by recording renal endpoints, defined as doubling of baseline serum creatinine or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring renal replacement therapy.

Results: BNP and NT-proBNP were significantly higher among 65 patients who reached the combined renal endpoint than among the 112 who did not [median (interquartile range) 61 (27-98) ng/L vs 39 (20-70) ng/L, P = 0.023, for BNP; 320 (117-745) ng/L vs 84 (44-176) ng/L, P <0.001, for NT-proBNP)]. Each increment of 1 SD in log-transformed BNP and NT-proBNP increased the risk of CKD progression by hazard ratios of 1.38 (95% CI 1.09-1.76, P = 0.009) and 2.28 (1.76-2.95, P <0.001), respectively. After adjustment for other established prognostic factors of CKD progression, NT-proBNP but not BNP remained a significant independent predictor of the combined renal endpoint.

Conclusions: Increased BNP and NT-proBNP concentrations indicate an increased risk for accelerated progression of CKD to ESRD and may prove to be valuable biomarkers for the assessment of prognosis in patients with CKD.