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Triceps skinfold thickness is associated with all-cause mortality independent of BMI among maintenance haemodialysis patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2025

Yaya Yang ,
Yan Huang ,
Qiuxia Zhong ,
Chaoying Xia ,
Jieyu Wang ,
Xiaolei Lan ,
Yaozhong Kong ,
Qijun Wan ,
Yumin Li  and
Sheng Huang
...Show all authors
Yaya Yang
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Yan Huang
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Qiuxia Zhong
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Chaoying Xia
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Jieyu Wang
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Xiaolei Lan
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Yaozhong Kong
Affiliation:
Nephrology Department, the First People’s Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, People’s Republic of China
Qijun Wan
Affiliation:
Nephrology Department, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China
Yumin Li
Affiliation:
Nephrology Department, Huadu District People’s Hospital of Guangzhou, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Sheng Huang
Affiliation:
Nephrology Department, Southern Medical University Affiliated Nanhai Hospital, Foshan, People’s Republic of China
Yan Liu
Affiliation:
Nephrology Department, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, Medical College of Jinan University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Aiqun Liu
Affiliation:
Nephrology Department, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Fanna Liu
Affiliation:
Nephrology Department, Jinan University First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Xianhui Qin
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Youbao Li
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Min Liang*
Affiliation:
National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Nanfang Hospital; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Multi-organ Injury; Nephrology Department, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
*
Corresponding author: Dr Min Liang; Email: nfyylm@163.com
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Abstract

Triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) is a surrogate marker of subcutaneous fat. Evidence is limited about the association of sex-specific TSF with the risk of all-cause mortality among maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) patients. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal relationship of TSF with all-cause mortality among MHD patients. A multicenter prospective cohort study was performed on 1034 patients undergoing MHD. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The median (interquartile range) of TSF was 9·7 (6·3–13·3 mm) in males and 12·7 (10·0–18·0 mm) in females. Over a median follow-up of 4·4 years (interquartile range, 2·4–7·9 years), there were 548 (53·0 %) deaths. When TSF was assessed as sex-specific quartiles, compared with those in quartile 1, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) (95 % CI) of all-cause mortality in quartile 2, quartile 3 and quartile 4 was 0·93 (0·73, 1·19), 0·75 (0·58, 0·97) and 0·69 (0·52, 0·92), respectively (P for trend = 0·005). Moreover, when analysed by sex, increased TSF (≥9·7 mm for males and ≥18 mm for females) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality (quartile 3–4 v. quartile 1–2; HR, 0·70; 95 % CI: 0·55, 0·90 in males; quartile 4 v. quartile 1–3; HR, 0·69; 95 % CI: 0·48, 1·00 in females). In conclusion, high TSF was significantly associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in MHD patients.

Keywords

Fat distributionSubcutaneous fatTriceps skinfold thicknessMortalityMaintenance haemodialysis

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 134 , Issue 10 , 28 November 2025 , pp. 829 - 835
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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Footnotes

†

These authors have contributed equally to this work.

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