A high circulating FGF21 level as a prognostic marker in patients with acute myocardial infarction

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of serum FGF21 in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to explore the association between serum FGF21 and major adverse cardiovascular events in AMI patients.

A total of 238 Chinese patients were recruited for this study between January 2016 and June 2016, including 183 AMI patients and 55 patients without AMI were enrolled in this study. The level of serum FGF21 was measured by ELISA. Patients were followed-up after admission using a standardized protocol that included Outpatient follow-up and telephone contacts to record the Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACEs). Finally, 165 patients were enrolled and followed up during the period of 24 months.

Circulating FGF21 level was elevated in the AMI patients compared to control (P < 0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that cTnI (β = -0.001, 95% CI = 0.021-0.001, P = 0.002), fibrinogen (β = -0.055, 95% CI = 0.098-0.013, P = 0.011) and hyperlipidemia (β = 0.129, 95% CI = 0.014-0.243, P = 0.011) were the independent risk factors for the serum of FGF21 in AMI patients. After follow-up, A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the all-cause mortality rate was not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.4146). Meanwhile the rate of cardiovascular events was significantly higher in the high-FGF21 group than in the low-FGF21 group (P = 0.0399). In the multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model suggested that the predictive independent risk factors for the occurrence of MACEs were FGF21 ≥ cut-off (HR: 1.637; 95% CI: 1.357-3.647, P = 0.029) and D-Dimer (HR: 1.420; 95% CI: 1.069-3.014, P = 0.046).

Circulating FGF21 level is elevated in the AMI patients. In AMI patients, cTnI, fibrinogen and hyperlipidemia are the inde pendent risk factors for the serum of FGF21. Higher circulating FGF21 level is associated with increased MACEs rate. This study suggests that circulating FGF21 level may be a predictive marker of the clinical outcomes in AMI patients.