Pain and Obesity in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: A Post Hoc Analysis of the Halt Progression of Polycystic Kidney Disease (HALT-PKD) Studies

Rationale & Objective: Pain is a frequent complication of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and includes back and abdominal pain. We hypothesized that in adults with early- and late-stage ADPKD, overweight and obesity are independently associated with greater self-reported back, abdominal, and radicular pain at baseline and that weight loss would be associated with decreased pain over a follow-up period.

Study Design: Post hoc analysis of pooled data from 2 randomized trials.

Setting & Participants: Participants in the HALT-PKD study A or B. 867 individuals were included in a cross-sectional analysis. 4,248 observations from 871 participants were included in a longitudinal analysis.

Predictor: Overweight and obesity (cross-sectional); annual change in weight as a time-varying predictor (longitudinal).

Outcome: Pain (Likert-scale responses; cross-sectional); annual change in pain (binary outcome of worsening pain or not worsening; longitudinal).

Analytical Approach: Multivariable ordinal logistic regression (cross-sectional); generalized estimating equation analysis (longitudinal).

Results: Participants were aged 42±10 years and baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate was 71±26 mL/min/1.73 m. Back, abdominal, and radicular pain were reported more frequently in individuals with increasing body mass index category (all  < 0.05 for trend). After multivariable adjustment, obesity was associated with increased odds of greater back and radicular pain, but not abdominal pain. Associations remained similar after further adjustment for baseline height-adjusted kidney and liver volume (study A only, n = 457); back pain: OR, 1.88 (95% CI, 1.15-3.08); and radicular pain: OR, 2.92 (95% CI, 1.45-5.91). Longitudinally (median follow-up, 5 years), weight loss (annual decrease in weight ≥ 4%) was associated with decreased adjusted odds of worsening back pain (OR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.76-0.99]) compared with the reference group (stable weight).

Limitations: Post hoc, associative analysis.

Conclusions: In early- and late-stage ADPKD, obesity was associated with greater back and radicular pain independent of total kidney/liver volume. Mild weight loss was associated with favorable effects on back pain.