Patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), who accompany metabolic syndrome, have a high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease, a study showed. Therefore, it will be important for such patients to practice a customized diet to prevent end-stage kidney disease, the study said.

The research team of professor Lee Sang-won and Park Pil-gyu at the Rheumatology Division of Yonsei University College of Medicine and professor Huh Ji-hye at the Endocrinology and Metabolism Division of Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital released the study results on Tuesday.

According to the study, the probability of developing end-stage kidney disease could be up to 60 percent higher in AAV patients with the most severe metabolic syndrome compared to those with the lowest metabolic syndrome score.

AAV is a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in small blood vessels such as capillaries. Inflammation spreads to major organs, leading to cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

Metabolic syndrome is more likely to occur in AAV patients than in healthy people. For example, if an AAV patient shows abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, the patient needs to take a metabolic syndrome test.

The research team investigated 36 AAV patients who accompanied metabolic syndrome and found that 10 of them (28 percent) developed end-stage kidney disease.

The researchers used the metabolic syndrome severity score (MSSS) to quantify the metabolic syndrome severity and set 1.72, a statistically significant score, as the high-risk criteria. Then, they evaluated the probability of developing end-stage kidney disease.

The results showed that AVV patients with 1.72 or higher MSSS had a 75 percent chance of developing end-stage kidney disease, 60 percent higher than those with less than 1.72 MSSS.

“If you are diagnosed with AAV, you should check if you have metabolic syndrome and how severe it is,” Lee said. “This study is expected to help prevent end-stage kidney disease by applying dietary therapy to AVV patients with metabolic syndrome.”

The study was published in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

(Caption)

From left, Professor Lee Sang-won, fellow Park Pil-gyu at Yonsei University College of Medicine, and Professor Huh Ji-hye at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital