To Örebro University

Background: Differences in the performance of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations have been attributed to the mathematical form of the equations and to differences between patient demographics and measurement methods. We evaluated differences in serum creatinine (SCr) and eGFR in cohorts matched for age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and measured GFR (mGFR).

Methods: White North Americans from Minnesota (n = 1093) and the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) (n = 1548) and White subjects from the European Kidney Function Consortium (EKFC) cohort (n = 7727) were matched for demographic patient characteristics (sex, age +/- 3 years, BMI +/- 2.5 kg/m(2)) and renal function (mGFR +/- 3 ml/min/1.73 m(2)). SCr was measured with isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS)-traceable assays in the Minnesota and EKFC cohorts and with non-standardized SCr assays recalculated to IDMS in the CRIC. The Minnesota cohort and CRIC shared a common method to measure GFR (renal clearance of iothalamate), while the EKFC cohort used a variety of exogenous markers and methods, all with recognized sufficient accuracy. We compared the SCr levels and eGFR predictions [for Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) and EKFC equations] of patients fulfilling these matching criteria.

Results: For 305 matched individuals, mean SCr (mg/dL) was not different between the Minnesota and EKFC cohorts (females 0.83 +/- 0.20 versus 0.86 +/- 0.23, males 1.06 +/- 0.23 versus 1.12 +/- 0.37; P > .05) but significantly different from the CRIC [females 1.13 +/- 0.23 (P < .0001), males 1.42 +/- 0.31 (P < .0001)]. The CKD-EPI equations performed better than the EKFC equation in the CRIC, while the opposite was true in the Minnesota and EKFC cohorts.

Conclusion: Significant differences in SCr concentrations between the Minnesota and EKFC cohorts versus CRIC were observed in subjects with the same level of mGFR and equal demographic characteristics and can be explained by the difference in SCr calibration.

Lay Summary: Standardization of serum creatinine (SCr) measurement is fundamental for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR). We used data with GFR measured by a reference method from three cohorts: Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC, n = 1548), Minnesota cohort (n = 1093) and European Kidney Function Consortium cohort (EKFC; n = 7727). In the EKFC and Minnesota cohorts, SCr was measured by standardized methods, although SCr 'calibration' was more debatable in the CRIC. GFR was measured by the same method in the CRIC and Minnesota cohort. Then we matched 305 White subjects for sex, measured GFR (+/- 3 ml/min/1.73 m(2)), age (+/- 3 years) and body mass index (+/- 2.5 kg/m(2)). From these matched subjects we showed that the association between SCr and measured GFR was quite similar between subjects from the Minnesota and EKFC cohorts, but different between the CRIC and EKFC cohort and between the Minnesota cohort and CRIC. These differences lead to discrepancies in the analysis of the performance of different creatinine-based equations.