Association between Cystatin C and arteriosclerosis in the absence of chronic kidney disease

Aim: chronic kidney disease (ckd) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (cvd). cystatin c was recently reported to be an endogenous surrogate of kidney function,and a high level of cystatin c is reported to be a strong predictor of cvd; however,the association between cystatin c and arteriosclerosis in a non-ckd population is unclear. this study aimed to clarify the association between cystatin c and arteriosclerosis in a non-ckd population. methods: of the 637 japanese adults (264 men,373 women) enrolled,we analyzed 446 participants with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (egfr) >60 ml/min and no proteinuria (177 men,269 women) without a history of cvd. kidney function was evaluated according to serum cystatin c levels and egfr. arteriosclerosis was evaluated on the basis of the cardio-ankle vascular index (cavi) and carotid intima-media thickness (cimt). results: the mean age of our subjects was 67.0±10.0 years. no variables showed any significant differences according to gender. the results of multiple linear regression analysis showed a significant correlation between serum cystatin c and cavi only in women,but not cimt. conclusion: we observed a significant correlation between cystatin c and cavi,which is a marker of early-stage arteriosclerosis,in women in a non-ckd population with no proteinuria and egfr >60 ml/min.