The association between peripheral eosinophil count and chronic kidney disease: evidence from NHANES 1999–2018

Abstract

Background

Renal impairment has been previously linked to peripheral eosinophil count (PEC), prompting an investigation into its potential relationship with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This cross-sectional study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999–2018) to comprehensively explore the association between PEC and CKD.

Methods

Survey-weighted generalized multivariate linear regression was employed to evaluate the associations between PEC, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), with meticulous adjustment for potential covariates. To assess non-linear correlations, a restricted cubic spline analysis was conducted. Sensitivity analysis was performed to test the stability of results.

Results

The study included a total of 9224 participants with non-dialysis CKD. In the multivariate linear regression model, after comprehensive adjustment for potential covariates, PEC showed a negative association with eGFR (β per 100 cells/uL increase in PEC, −0.71; 95% CI, −1.04, −0.37), while demonstrating a positive trend with UACR (β per 100 cells/uL increase in PEC, 10.21; 95% CI, 1.37, 19.06). The restrictive cubic spline curve analysis suggested that these associations occurred within the range of 0 to 400 cells/uL for PEC. Sensitivity analysis supported the stability of the observed results.

Conclusions

Circulating eosinophil levels are negatively correlated with eGFR and demonstrate a positive trend with UACR, when PEC falls within the range of less than 400 cells/uL among adults with CKD. Further research is warranted to validate these findings.

Keywords:

• Eosinophils
• chronic kidney disease
• albuminuria
• NHANES
• cross-sectional study

Acknowledgments

We thank the participants and staff of NHANES involved in this study, as all the data were derived from NHANES.

Authors’ contributions

Li Shang contributed to the study design; Shisheng Han, Meng Jia, and Wenli Yuan performed the data analysis; Shisheng Han completed the original manuscript; Yan Lu, Yanqiu Xu, and Yi Wang participated in the revision of this manuscript. All authors have approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data used this study are openly available in NHANES at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant number 82274391] and the Xinglin New Star Plan of Shanghai, China [Grant number ZY(2018-2020)-RCPY-3006].