Increased LDL-cholesterol level is associated with deterioration of renal function in males

Relationships between levels of serum lipid fractions and the time course of renal function are discrepant in the literature. Here we examined this issue by analyses of healthy subjects in a cohort.

Of all subjects who received health examinations at Keijinkai Maruyama Clinic, Sapporo in 2006, subjects with hypertension, diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease (CKD) and those taking medication for dyslipidemia were excluded and a total of 5586 subjects (male/female: 3563/2023, mean age: 43 ± 8 years) were followed for 10 years.

Linear mixed effect models showed that baseline low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) level was negatively associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during the 10-year follow-up period after adjustment for confounders. Interactions between the follow-up year and baseline level of LDL-C or high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) for eGFR values during the follow-up period were significant in males but not in females. There were no significant interactions for eGFR between the follow-up year and baseline levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, or HDL-C/triglycerides ratio. During the follow-up period, 346 males and 223 females developed CKD. When male subjects were divided into subgroups according to tertiles of baseline levels of LDL-C, the adjusted risk for CKD in the third tertial group was significantly higher than that in the first tertile group as a reference [hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.39 (1.02-1.90), P = .035]. Such a difference was not observed for LDL-C tertiles in females or HDL-C tertiles in both sexes.

A high LDL-C level may be a risk factor for new-onset CKD in apparently healthy males.