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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #206997
Title: Vitamin K Status of Canadian Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Author
item PILKEY, RACHEL - QUEENS UNIVERSITY
item LIESCU, EDWARD - QUEENS UNIVERSITY
item MORTON, ROSS - QUEENS UNIVERSITY
item Booth, Sarah

Submitted to: Peritoneal Dialysis International
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/27/2006
Publication Date: 7/1/2008
Citation: Pilkey, R.M., Liescu, E., Morton, R.A., Booth, S.L. 2008. Vitamin K Status of Canadian Peritoneal Dialysis Patients. Peritoneal Dialysis International. 28:14-17.

Interpretive Summary: Vitamin K –dependent proteins have been implicated in the regulation of vascular calcification, a condition that is prevalent among peritoneal dialysis patients. Vitamin K status in this patient population is unknown. In a cross-sectional study of 22 peritoneal dialysis patients selected from a Canadian hemodialysis clinic, vitamin K status was determined based on two biological measures. The average age of the patients in this study was 56 years, and one-quarter of the patients were men. The majority of peritoneal dialysis patients from this one hemodialysis clinic had biochemical measures consistent with subclinical vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K deficiency may represent a potentially modifiable risk factor for vascular calcification in this population.

Technical Abstract: Vitamin K –dependent proteins have been implicated in the regulation of vascular calcification, a condition that is prevalent among peritoneal dialysis patients. Vitamin K status in this patient population is unknown. In a cross-sectional study of 22 peritoneal dialysis patients selected from a Canadian hemodialysis clinic, vitamin K status was determined based on two biomarkers: serum phylloquinone and percent undercarboxylated osteocalcin. The mean age of patients was 56.5 years, and 27.3 percent were male. The mean (SD) serum phylloquinone concentration was 0.8 (0.6) nmol/L, with 27.3 percent in the abnormal range for this assay. The mean percent undercarboxylated osteocalcin was 60.2 (20.5), with 100 percent of the patients in the abnormal range. There was no correlation between phylloquinone and undercarboxylated osteocalcin in these patients. These data indicate that the majority of peritoneal dialysis patients from this one hemodialysis clinic have biochemical measures consistent with subclinical vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K deficiency may represent a potentially modifiable risk factor for vascular calcification in this population.