Risk factors of the peptic ulcer bleeding in aging uremia patients under regular hemodialysis

Background: Previous studies have shown that uremia patients under hemodialysis (HD) have a significantly higher occurrence of peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB) than healthy controls and that elderly patients remain at high risk of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) and PUB. Here we aimed to identify the risk factors for PUB in aging (≥65-years-old) uremic patients under regular HD.

Methods: Using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, we compared 18,252 aging regular HD patients and 17,883 age-, gender-, and medication-matched patients without kidney disease (control group). The log-rank test was performed to analyze the differences in accumulated hazard of PUB between the two groups. Cox proportional hazard regressions were performed to evaluate independent risk factors for PUB between the two groups and identify risk factors of PUB in aging HD patients.

Results: In a 7-year follow-up, aging HD patients had significantly higher incidences of PUB than the matched controls (p < 0.001 by the log-rank test). By Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, HD (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.61; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 4.03-5.27) was independently associated with increased risk of PUB. Age, diabetes mellitus (DM), history of uncomplicated PUD, cirrhosis, and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids were risk factors for PUB in aging HD patients.

Conclusion: Aging HD patients are associated with higher risk of PUB. The use of NSAIDs and corticosteroids and co-morbidities including DM, history of uncomplicated PUD, and cirrhosis were identified as risk factors for PUB in these patients.