Serum Dickkopf-3 Level Is Inversely Associated with Significant Coronary Stenosis in an Asymptomatic Chinese Cohort

Dickkopp-3 (DKK3) has been identified to play a protection role against atherosclerosis. However, little is known about the relationship between serum DKK3 levels and subclinical coronary atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate the association of serum DKK3 with coronary stenosis in an asymptomatic Chinese population. A total of 550 Chinese adults aged 40-60 years and without symptoms or histories of cardiovascular diseases were randomly selected to undergo coronary computed tomography angiography. We defined ≥ 50% luminal narrowing as significant coronary stenosis and measured serum DKK3 levels by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fifty-nine participants had significant coronary stenosis and 223 had < 50% coronary stenosis. Proportions of significant coronary stenosis were 13.7%, 11.4%, and 7.1% in DKK3 tertiles 1-3, respectively (P_trend = 0.0427). In the univariable multinomial logistic regression model, a decreasing DKK3 tertile was associated with significant coronary stenosis with borderline significance (OR: 1.40; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.98-1.99, P = 0.0642). In the multivariable regression model, participants in the lowest DKK3 tertile were associated with a 1.42-fold increased risk of significant coronary stenosis than those in the highest DKK3 tertile (OR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.10-5.33; P = 0.0279) after adjustment for conventional cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, associations between DKK3 and significant coronary stenosis were consistent among subgroups. However, no significant association was found between serum DKK3 levels and < 50% coronary stenosis. Therefore, we have added to the existing evidence that serum DKK3 is inversely associated with the risk of significant coronary stenosis in asymptomatic middle-aged Chinese.