eGFR and the Risk of Community-Acquired Infections

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Community-acquired infections are common, contributing to adverse outcomes and increased health care costs. We hypothesized that, with lower eGFR, the incidence of community-acquired infections increases, whereas the pattern of site-specific infections varies. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: Among 1,139,470 health care users (mean age =52±18 years old, 53% women) from the Stockholm CREAtinine Measurements Project, we quantified the associations of eGFR with the risk of infections, overall and major types, over 12 months. Differences in incidence associated with eGFR were in general consistent for most infection types, except for nervous system and upper respiratory tract infections, for which no association was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This region-representative health care study finds an excess community-acquired infections incidence in individuals with mild to severe CKD. Lower respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infection, and sepsis are major infections in CKD.