Coronary arterial calcification is associated with albuminuria in type 2 diabetic patient

Association of serum creatinine with aortic arch calcification in middle-aged and elderly adults: an observational cross-sectional study from China

Background and aims

Vascular calcification (VC) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Renal dysfunction is closely related to VC. Serum creatinine, as an important indicator of renal function in chronic kidney disease (CKD), is closely associated with increased VC. Here, to explore the potential role of serum creatinine in CVD, we examined the association between serum creatinine level and aortic arch calcification (AAC) presence in a larger general population.

Methods

A total of 9067 participants aged > 45 years were included in this study. All participants underwent postero-anterior chest X-ray examination to diagnose AAC. According to the distribution characteristics, serum creatinine levels in male and female were divided into tertiles respectively. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the association between aortic calcification and serum creatinine.

Results

Participants included 3776 men and 5291 women, and 611 and 990 AAC were detected, respectively. Serum creatinine level in the female AAC group was significantly higher than that in the non-AAC group (p < 0.001), while there was no significant difference in male serum creatinine between the two groups (p = 0.241). After logistic regression analysis excluded confounding factors, with the first tertile of serum creatinine as the reference, multivariable-adjusted ORs and 95% CIs of the second and the highest tertile of female and male were 1.045 (0.856–1.276), 1.263 (1.036–1.539); 0.953 (0.761–1.193), 0.948 (0.741–1.198), respectively.

Conclusion

Elevated serum creatinine levels are independently associated with higher AAC incidence in female aged > 45 years old. Measuring serum creatinine levels may assist the early screening individuals at high risk of developing CVD. And higher attention should be given to female's serum creatinine levels in daily clinical practice.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-022-02617-6.

Coronary artery calcification in patients with diabetes mellitus and advanced chronic kidney disease

INTRODUCTION

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) have high cardiovascular risk. Both conditions are related to systemic atherosclerosis and vascular calcification. The prevalence and severity of coronary artery calcification (CaC) is higher in patients with DM, regardless of their renal function. Data about the long-term prognostic role of CaC in diabetic patients with CKD are scarce.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We carried out a prospective longitudinal study enrolling 137 patients with advanced CKD. A non-enhanced multislice coronary computed tomography (CT) was performed at baseline. CaC was assessed using Agatston method. Patients were stratified according to their CaC score: severe calcification group (CaCs≥400HU) and mild-moderate calcification group (CaCs<400HU).

RESULTS

The median follow-up time was 87.5 months. DM was found in 28% of subjects. The patients with DM showed more severe CaC, lower albumin and higher C-reactive protein serum levels. Serum albumin was correlated with severe CaC (r=-0.45, P=.009). Overall mortality rate reached 58%. Patients with DM also tended to have higher mortality compared to non-diabetic subjects (X² 3.51, P=.061) especially those with severe CaC showed higher mortality than those with severe CaC without DM (93% vs.73%, P=.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with advanced CKD and DM have more severe CaC, increased inflammation-malnutrition data and higher mortality compared to those without DM.

Evaluation of the predictive value of coronary artery calcium score for obstructive coronary artery disease in asymptomatic Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND

Compared with coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA), the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) may be limited in predicting adverse cardiovascular events in asymptomatic diabetic patients.

METHODS

We evaluated the predictive value of CACS for obstructive coronary plaques (OCPs) assessed by CCTA in 328 consecutive asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate greater than 60 ml/min/1.73 m².

RESULTS

In total, 29 (9%) patients had OCPs: calcified or mixed OCPs and noncalcified OCPs were found in 26 (8%) and three (1%) patients, respectively. On the basis of a CACS of 0, 1-10, 11-100, and greater than 100, OCPs were found in 2, 5, 15, and 36% of patients, respectively. On receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal cutoff CACS for predicting OCPs was found to be 33, with 83% sensitivity and 81% specificity (area under the curve, 0.853; 95% confidence interval, 0.777-0.930; P<0.001). Positive and negative predictive values of a CACS of 33 for OCPs were 30 and 98%, respectively. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, age [odds ratio (OR), 1.09], microalbuminuria (OR, 3.43), current smoking (OR, 3.93), and CACS greater than 33 (OR, 15.85) were found to be independently associated with an increased risk for OCPs (P<0.05, respectively). The predictive significance of CACS greater than 33 for OCPs improved after considering the status of microalbuminuria and current smoking.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that CACS is an effective gatekeeper for evaluating obstructive coronary artery disease using CCTA in asymptomatic Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who have near-normal kidney function.

Association of albumin-creatinine ratio and cystatin C with change in ankle-brachial index: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

BACKGROUND

Low ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a reflection of atherosclerotic disease, and high ABI is an indicator of calcified vessels. The associations of albuminuria and cystatin C level with incidence of either low or high ABI are unknown.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective longitudinal cohort study.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS

MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) enrolled community-dwelling adults (N=6,814) aged 45-84 years who were free of clinical cardiovascular disease at baseline.

PREDICTORS

Baseline albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) and serum cystatin C level.

OUTCOMES

Development of low (<0.90), and high (>1.40) ABI using multinomial regression among persons with ABI of 0.90-1.40 at baseline.

RESULTS

During 9.8 years of follow-up, 221 and 89 participants progressed to low and high ABIs, respectively. Baseline ACR and cystatin C level were higher among progressors compared with nonprogressors. In multivariable analyses, doubling of ACR was associated with increased risk of progression to low (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.99-1.20) and high (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.01-1.32) ABIs. Compared to the lowest quintile, the highest quintile of ACR had a significantly increased risk of progression to low (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.03-3.12) and high (OR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.32-5.77) ABIs. Higher cystatin C levels were associated with progression to low (OR per 1-SD greater, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.00-1.26) but not high (OR per 1-SD greater, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.81-1.25) ABI, but the highest quintile of cystatin C was not associated independently with either outcome.

LIMITATIONS

Single measure of albuminuria and low number of progressors to high ABI.

CONCLUSIONS

In adults free of clinical cardiovascular disease, albuminuria was a strong independent risk factor for the development of both high and low ABIs, important and different measures of peripheral artery disease.

Preclinical cardiorenal interrelationships in essential hypertension

A diseased heart causes numerous adverse effects on kidney function, and vice versa renal disease can significantly impair cardiac function. Beyond these heart-kidney interrelationships at the clinical level, a reciprocal association has been suggested to exist even in the early stages of those organs' dysfunction. The aim of the present review is to provide evidence of the presence of a preclinical cardiorenal syndrome in the particular setting of essential hypertension, focusing on the subsequent hypertensive sequelae on heart and kidneys. In particular, a plethora of studies have demonstrated not only the predictive role of kidney damage, as expressed by either decreased glomerular filtration or increased urine albumin excretion, for adverse left ventricular functional and structural adaptations but also preclinical heart disease, i.e. left ventricular hypertrophy that is associated with deterioration of renal function. Notably, these reciprocal interactions seem to exist even at the level of microcirculation, since both coronary flow reserve and renal hemodynamics are strongly related with clinical and preclinical renal and cardiac damage, respectively. In this preclinical setting, common pathophysiological denominators, including the increased hemodynamic load, sympathetic and renin-angiotensin system overactivity, increased subclinical inflammatory reaction, and endothelial dysfunction, account not only for the reported associations between overt cardiac and renal damage but also for the parallel changes that occur in coronary and renal microcirculation.

Association of serum osteoprotegerin with vascular calcification in patients with type 2 diabetes

Background

Osteoprotegerin is a member of the tumor necrosis factor-related family and inhibits RANK stimulation of osteoclast formation as a soluble decoy receptor. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship of serum osteoprotegerin with vascular calcification in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

The subjects were 124 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, including 88 males and 36 females with a mean (± SD) age of 65.6 ± 8.2 years old. Serum levels of osteoprotegerin, osteocalcin, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and adiponectin were measured by ELISA. Vascular calcification in the cervical artery was examined by ultrasound sonography. The subjects were divided into 4 quartiles depending on serum osteoprotegerin levels.

Results

Vascular calcification was significantly higher in the 4th quartile and significantly lower in the 1st quartile of serum osteoprotegerin levels, compared to other quartiles. There were no differences in serum osteoprotegerin and vascular calcification among patients with different stages of diabetic nephropathy, but serum FGF23 levels were elevated in those with stage 4 diabetic nephropathy. Simple regression analysis showed that serum osteoprotegerin levels had significant positive correlations with age, systolic blood pressure and serum adiponectin levels, and significant negative correlations with BMI and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that elevated serum osteoprotegerin may be involved in vascular calcification independently of progression of diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Usefulness of albuminuria as predictor for coronary artery stenosis, regardless of estimated glomerular filtration rate, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the independent predictors of coronary artery stenosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and subclinical atherosclerosis. A total of 232 patients with type 2 DM and subclinical atherosclerosis underwent multislice computed tomography coronary angiography. Subclinical atherosclerosis was determined by the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) or carotid plaque. Multislice computed tomography coronary angiography revealed significant coronary stenosis (>50% in diameter) in 71 subjects (31%). The subjects who had significant coronary stenosis were much older and had had a longer duration of DM. In particular, the log-transformed albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) was greater in the subjects with significant coronary stenosis compared to the subjects without significant coronary stenosis. The age- and gender-adjusted odds ratio for significant coronary stenosis increased in proportion to albuminuria with a given estimated glomerular filtration rate. The ACR as a continuous variable (odds ratio 4.167, 95% confidence interval 1.497 to 11.599) or categorical variable (ACR >30 μg/mg, odds ratio 4.619, 95% confidence interval 1.562 to 13.659) was associated with an increased risk of significant coronary stenosis, independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, the ACR had an additive effect with carotid IMT for predicting significant coronary stenosis (area under the curve 0.625 with carotid IMT; area under the curve 0.710 with carotid IMT plus ACR, p = 0.0144). In conclusion, the presence of albuminuria is an independent predictor for significant coronary stenosis in patients with type 2 DM and subclinical atherosclerosis.

Relation of impaired coronary microcirculation to increased urine albumin excretion in patients with systemic hypertension and no epicardial coronary arterial narrowing

Coronary flow reserve (CFR) is impaired and urinary albumin excretion is increased in patients with essential hypertension. Our aim was to investigate the associations between CFR and cardiac and renal damage in hypertensives. For this purpose we studied 37 never-treated hypertensives (57.9 years old, 16 men) without chest pain but with a positive ischemia stress test result and normal coronary arteries on coronary angiogram. CFR was calculated by a 0.014-inch Doppler guidewire (Flowire, Volcano, San Diego) in the left anterior descending artery in response to bolus intracoronary administration of adenosine (60 μg) as the ratio of hyperemic to basal average peak velocity of the distal vessel. All participants underwent complete echocardiographic study including left ventricular diastolic function evaluation by tissue Doppler imaging (peak early diastolic velocity/peak atrial systolic velocity) and determination of the albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR). Hypertensives with low CFR (<2.5, n = 22) compared to those with high CFR (n = 15) exhibited a larger left ventricular mass index by 10.9 g/m(2) (p = 0.045) and ACR values by 10 mg/g (p <0.001). CFR was negatively correlated with logACR (r = -0.511, p = 0.001). LogACR (beta -0.792, p <0.001), male gender (beta 0.313, p = 0.005), left ventricular mass index (beta -0.329, p = 0.007), and peak early diastolic velocity/peak atrial systolic velocity (beta 0.443, p <0.001) were the only independent predictors of CFR in linear regression analysis (adjusted R(2) = 0.672). In conclusion, never-treated asymptomatic hypertensives who exhibit impaired CFR and angiographically normal epicardial arteries are characterized by intrarenal vascular damage as reflected by increased ACR. These findings suggest a plausible role of ACR estimation in the identification of hypertensive subjects with early coronary microvascular dysfunction.

Disordered Mineral Metabolism and Vascular Calcification in Nondialyzed Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

It is well established that abnormalities in mineral metabolism are apparent early in the course of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and result in clinically relevant consequences such as renal osteodystrophy. Furthermore, there is emerging evidence linking some of these abnormalities (hyperphosphatemia) to the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality experienced by nondialyzed patients with CKD. Most studies have evaluated vascular calcification in patients with stage 5 CKD. Reports published over the last 2 years show that the process begins rather early in CKD and is particularly severe among elderly and type 2 diabetic patients. Furthermore, "calcium begets calcium", such that the calcification burden in early CKD is an important predictor of subsequent progression, including the rapid increase seen in stage 5 CKD. There is an increasing body of evidence that supports the thesis that elevated serum levels of phosphorus and calcium and deficiency of inhibitors of calcification (for example, fetuin-A) are important in the progression of vascular calcification in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, the concentrations of calcium and phosphorus shown to induce mineralization in cell culture studies are not observed in most patients until late in stage 4 or stage 5 CKD. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have also been unable to show a correlation between serum levels of markers of disordered mineral metabolism and severity of vascular calcification. Future studies should evaluate the pathogenetic role of phosphorus retention, which occurs early in the course of CKD, in the induction and/or progression of vascular calcification. Finally, there is a need to identify alternative pathogenetic mechanisms that may be important causes of the high calcification burden observed early in CKD.