Renal-related biomarkers and long-term mortality in the US subjects with different coronary risks

The objective was to evaluate the association of a panel of renal biomarkers with long-term mortalities.

Participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) aged 35 years and above were included and Framingham risk scores were calculated. Renal-related biomarkers, including creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), cystatin C, uric acid, C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, urinary cadmium, albuminuria, homocysteine, and vitamin D were tested by Cox-regression model for their association with all-cause, cardiovascular (CV), and non-CV mortality obtained from the 2006 NHANES III-linked follow-up data, stratified by sex and Framingham risk.

In the 4873 men and 5372 women, 36.3%, 28.1%, and 35.6% of men and 67.2%, 25.8%, and 7.0% of women were classified into low-, intermediate-, and high coronary risk groups. With an average follow-up of 13.2 years, a total of 3632 deaths and 1657 CV deaths were recorded. Albuminuria was associated with all-cause mortality in both sexes across coronary risk groups. Creatinine-based eGFR provided additional differential capacity only in the women with intermediate-to-high coronary risk. Cystatin C was associated with all-cause mortality in the men with intermediate-to-high coronary risk and with CV mortality in the women with low coronary risk. Urinary cadmium was positively related to non-CV mortality. High vitamin D was protective against cardiovascular mortality in a limited category of men and women.

Albuminuria is associated with long-term all-cause mortalities independent of Framingham risks. Adding the panel of renal biomarkers provides limited advantages for predicting risk when compared to FRS alone.