Polycystic kidney disease is significantly associated with dementia risk.

OBJECTIVE: Data on the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD), in patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) are lacking.

METHODS: A total of 4,229 patients who were aged ≥20 years and had received a diagnosis of PKD were included in the PKD cohort. For each PKD case identified, 1 participant aged ≥20 years without a history of PKD, dementia, or PD was selected from the comparison cohort. For each patient with PKD, the corresponding controls were selected 1:1 on the basis of the nearest propensity score calculated using logistic regression.

RESULTS: The incidence density rates of dementia were 4.31 and 2.50 per 1,000 person-years in the PKD and control cohorts, respectively. A 2.04-fold higher risk of dementia was observed in patients with PKD than in controls (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.46-2.85). Regarding the risk of different dementia subtypes, including AD and vascular dementia (VaD), the aHR for AD and presenile dementia was 2.71 (95% CI 1.08-6.75) and that for VaD was 0.90 (95% CI 0.43-1.87) in patients with PKD compared with controls, after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities. Compared with controls, the risk of PD increased by 1.78-fold (95% CI 1.14-2.79) in patients with PKD.

CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice, health care professionals should be aware of the risk of neurodegenerative diseases in patients with PKD.