1. Introduction
arterial calcification, death, CKD, chronic kidney disease, ESKD, calcification, cardiovascular disease, HD, sarcopenia, vascular calcification, arterial stiffness, malnutrition
ARTERIAL CALCIFICATION, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, SARCOPENIA, CARDIOVASCULAR MORBIDITY, VASCULAR CALCIFICATION, VITAMIN K DEFICIENCY, END-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE, ARTERIAL STIFFNESS, MALNUTRITION
Background: There is a very high prevalence of subclinical vitamin K deficiency in patients requiring hemodialysis (HD), and this problem is associated with vascular calcification and arterial stiffness. Vitamin K2 (MK-7) supplementation can improve vitamin K status in HD patients. However, the benefits of vitamin K supplementation on arterial stiffness have still not been established. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of menaquinone-7 (MK-7) supplementation on arterial stiffness in chronic HD patients. Methods: This open-label multicenter randomized clinical trial was conducted in 96 HD patients who had arterial stiffness, defined by high carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV ≥ 10 m/s). The patients were randomly assigned to receive oral MK-7 (375 mcg once daily) for 24 weeks (Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are the leading causes of death in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly those with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Nutritional status is also one of the most important factors for survival in dialysis patients. The global prevalence of malnutrition and sarcopenia reported in ESKD patients were 28–54% [Previous investigations have revealed a positive correlation between arterial stiffness and arterial calcification in patients with chronic hemodialysis (HD), with the severity of the calcification exacerbating arterial stiffness [Given that poor vitamin K status predicts cardiovascular disease and mortality in dialysis patients, vitamin K supplementation may improve arterial calcification by activating MGP. Several previous trials have investigated the effect of vitamin K treatment on substantially reducing circulating plasma dp-ucMGP levels in CKD and ESKD patients [