Serum level of the phosphaturic factor FGF23 is associated with abdominal aortic calcification in men: the STRAMBO...

Calcification inhibitor deficiencies, mineral imbalance, and phenotypic transformation of vascular cells to osteogenic cells initiate and sustain vascular calcification. Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) is a key molecule regulating mineral homeostasis.

Our objective was to assess the association of serum FGF23 levels with mineral metabolism parameters and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in men.

This was a cross-sectional analysis in the STRAMBO cohort.

Men holding a private health insurance cover with Mutuelle de Travailleurs de la Région Lyonnaise were included in the study.

Participants included male volunteers aged 20-87 (n = 1130).

Nonfasting blood collection was done. AAC was semiquantitatively assessed from vertebral fracture assessment scans obtained using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

We evaluated the association between FGF23 concentration and AAC severity in men.

In 350 men aged 60 yr or younger, FGF23 levels decreased with age (r = -0.21; P < 0.001) but were not associated with any other parameter. In 780 men aged over 60 yr, serum FGF23 correlated with age (r = 0.37; P < 0.001) and, after adjustment for confounders, with glomerular filtration rate (r = -0.31; P < 0.001) and PTH levels (r = 0.25; P < 0.001). After adjustment for confounders, self-reported ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus as well as higher concentrations of C-reactive protein and osteoprotegerin were all associated with higher FGF23 levels. After adjustment for confounders, subjects in the highest FGF23 quartile had higher prevalence of severe AAC compared with the three lower quartiles combined (odds ratio = 1.88; 95% confidence interval = 1.22-2.85; P < 0.005).

In healthy older men, circulating FGF23 is associated with parameters of mineral metabolism, including bone metabolism-regulating cytokines, and with severe AAC independent of traditional risk factors.