Outcomes Associated with Serum Calcium Level in Men with Non-Dialysis-Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Elevated serum calcium has been associated with increased mortality in dialysis patients, but it is unclear whether the same is true in non-dialysis-dependent (NDD) chronic kidney disease (CKD). Outcomes associated with low serum calcium are also not well-characterized. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, P < 0.001 for a baseline calcium 1 mg/dl higher). However, in time-varying analyses, lower calcium levels were associated with increased mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Higher serum calcium is associated with increased long-term mortality (as reflected by the baseline and time-averaged models), and lower serum calcium is associated with increased short-term mortality (as reflected by the time-varying models) in patients with NDD CKD. Clinical trials are warranted to determine whether maintaining normal serum calcium can improve outcomes in these patients.