Increased history of ischemic stroke and decreased neurocognitive performance in children with chronic kidney disease

Background: This study aimed to determine stroke incidence and assess the association between stroke and neurocognitive functioning in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: Data was derived from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) cohort study. Stroke incidence was calculated after confirming self-reports of stroke occurrence by chart review. Each participant with stroke was matched with three stroke-free participants and performance on selected neurocognitive measures was compared. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to compare neurocognitive test scores. Effect size (ES) was estimated using a modified version of Cohen’s U₃ metric that measures the excess percentage of the stroke group worse than the median of the control group. Results: Of 891 subjects, five (0.56%) had a confirmed stroke prior to study entry. Median time at risk was 15.7 years [interquartile range, 12.5–18.4]. Estimated incidence rate of history of stroke was 36.8 per 100,000 children per year (95% confidence interval 15.3, 88.5). Controls and subjects with stroke were similar in age, CKD duration, race, and maternal education. ES for many of the neurocognitive comparisons was moderate to large. Subjects in the CKID cohort with a history of stroke had lower scores on spatial span reverse, spatial span forward, and design fluency, and worse parent ratings on BRIEF Metacognition Index compared to a matched sample of children with CKD without stroke. Conclusions: Children with CKD have an increased incidence of prior ischemic stroke compared to the general pediatric population. A stroke history was associated with poorer performance on neurocognitive measures. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].