ArticleKidney medicine2026
Real-world Evidence for Improvements in Inflammation and Anemia Biomarkers After the Initiation of GLP-1RA in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis.
Article in Kidney medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The Possible Hematological Cost of Metabolic Success: Do Incretin-Based Therapies Silently Trigger Anemia?Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Rationale & Objective: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are increasingly used for diabetes and obesity but have not been studied in patients with kidney failure with replacement therapy receiving hemodialysis in prospective trials. GLP-1RAs may influence inflammatory pathways relevant to anemia, although their effects in hemodialysis patients remain unclear. Study Design: Retrospective matched cohort study. Setting & Participants: Data were derived from a large US dialysis provider (Fresenius Kidney Care). We identified 2,468 adult patients who initiated GLP-1RA therapy between January 1, 2023, and November 1, 2024, and matched 1:1 to nonusers using propensity scores based on demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and baseline laboratory values. Exposure: Initiation of GLP-1RA therapy. Outcomes: Longitudinal changes over 12 months in inflammatory markers (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, white blood cell count, and albumin level) and anemia parameters (hemoglobin level, ferritin level, transferrin saturation value, erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) dose, and erythropoietin resistance index). Analytical Approach: Linear mixed models were used to compare longitudinal trajectories between matched groups. Results: Compared with matched controls, GLP-1RA users demonstrated reductions in systemic inflammation, characterized by lower neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (3.97 vs 4.64, with a mean difference of -0.67 [95% CI, -0.89 to -0.45]) and white blood cell counts at 12 months, alongside greater improvements in serum albumin level (3.92 vs 3.86 g/dL, with a mean difference of 0.06 [95% CI, 0.04-0.08]). Although hemoglobin levels remained comparable between groups (10.9 vs 10.84 g/dL, with a mean difference of 0.06 [95% CI, -0.004 to 0.12]), GLP-1RA users had lower cumulative ESA exposure (1,881.9 vs 2,005.8 μg; mean difference of -123.9 μg, [95% CI, -201.7 to -46.1] μg) and a modestly reduced rate of erythropoietin resistance index compared with nonusers. Additionally, iron stores (ferritin level and transferrin saturation value) were consistently higher in the GLP-1RA group. Conclusions: In patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis, GLP-1RA agonist use was associated with reductions in inflammatory markers and lower ESA requirements; however, as an observational study, causality cannot be inferred. These findings suggest GLP-1RAs may have potential benefits in managing inflammation and inflammation-mediated anemia in kidney failure.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.