Occupational Heat Exposure as a Risk Factor for End-Stage Kidney Disease: A Case-Control Study.

Abstract

More patients are reaching end-stage kidney disease without evident cause. This study aims to explore occupational risk factors associated with hemodialysis. A multicenter matched case-control study included dialysis patients and age, sex, and diabetes-matched controls (normal kidney function). Conditional logistic regression analysis assessed occupational factors associated with dialysis. Two hundred thirty eight hemodialysis patients and 238 controls were included. History of occupational heat exposure (odds ratio [OR] = 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24 to 3.00), working as a cook (OR = 12; 95% CI: 1.56 to 92.29), as construction worker (OR = 10; 95% CI: 1.28 to 78.12) were associated with higher risk of dialysis. These results were significant in men and in those with kidney disease of unknown etiology. Occupational heat exposure was found to be associated with hemodialysis. This is an important step for future development of preventive strategies in high-risk professions.