Prevalence of mild impairment in renal function in a random sample of elders from a biethnic community survey

The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalences of renal impairment, notably an elevation in serum urea nitrogen and/or serum creatinine concentration, in a randomly selected, biethnic population of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white men and women, and to determine the associations with coronary heart disease and its risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia). A survey of health and health-related issues was conducted on 883 volunteers, mean age 74.1 years, randomly selected from the Medicare rolls of Bernalillo County (Albuquerque), New Mexico. Equal numbers of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white men and women were selected and recruited. A fasting serum creatinine and serum urea nitrogen was included in the battery of laboratory tests. Mild elevations of SUN and serum creatinine concentrations are common (9.2%) in an aging, randomly selected population (mean age 74.1 years). Males were more commonly affected than females. There were no differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites, even though diabetes was twice as prevalent in Hispanics. Mild elevations of SUN and serum creatinine were more common in participants with coronary heart disease and its risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia). All participants with mild renal impairment had either increased total cholesterol or decreased HDL-cholesterol. One cannot determine from a cross-sectional study whether the dyslipidemia consistently associated with mild renal impairment was a cause of the renal impairment or a result of the renal impairment; however, biological explanations do exist to explain how the dyslipidemias can lead to progressive glomerulosclerosis.