Association Between Serum Aluminum Level and Uremic Pruritus in Hemodialysis Patients. Issue 1 (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hsu, Ching-Wei; Weng, Cheng-Hao; Chan, Ming-Jen; Lin-Tan, Dan-Tzu; Yen, Tzung-Hai; Huang, Wen-Hung
• Is Part Of: Scientific reports. Volume 8:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: Natural history -- Research -- Periodicals; Biology -- Research -- Periodicals; Physical sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Earth sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 502.85
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35217-6
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-2322

Abstract

Abstract Uremic pruritus (UP) is a common symptom in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). The pathogenesis of UP is complex. Aluminum (Al) is a common metal and is toxic to patients undergoing HD. Al is also a known human allergen which can induce immune reactions. However, the correlation between Al and UP remains unclear in dialysis patients. A total of 866 patients on maintenance HD were enrolled for analysis. The HD patients with higher serum Al levels had higher a prevalence of UP than those with lower serum Al levels. After adjusting for confounding variables, the serum Al level was significantly associated with UP. Overall, each 10-fold increase in serum Al level was associated with a 5.64-fold increase in the risk of developing UP in these subjects. The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that serum Al level may be associated with the development of UP in patients on maintenance HD.