Mitochondrial DNA copy number and Kidney function
My second year thesis at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg school of Public Health looked at the longitudinal association of mtDNA CN and Kidney function measures, among a cohort of people with history of injection drug use.
Methods: Linear mixed effects models for Estimated Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum creatinine (Scr) trajectories over time
Why: To understand rates of decline or increase over time and whether this rate differs between individuals with low mtDNA CN vs high mtDNA CN.
Methods: Time to event analysis for events defined by percentage increase or clinical cut offs of Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and Protein - creatinine ratios. (UPCR)
Why: To understand whether the time to adverse kidney events differs between individuals with low mtDNA CN vs high mtDNA CN.
Novelty:
painted a clearer picture of the mtDNA CKD association in a hard-to-reach population of people who inject drugs; by accounting for confounders such as injection drug use, HCV infection, HIV infection.
A comprehensive analysis looking at trajectories in addition to time-to-events