Markers of Kidney Function Linked to Heart Disease Risk

Proteinuria, albuminuria levels associated with coronary heart disease risk

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Proteinuria and albuminuria, as markers of kidney dysfunction, are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, according to a report published online Oct. 21 in PLoS Medicine.

Vlado Perkovic, Ph.D., from the George Institute for International Health in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of 26 published cohort studies examining the association between proteinuria (total urinary protein greater than 300 mg/day), and subsequent risk of heart disease involving 169,949 individuals and 7,117 coronary events (27 percent fatal).

The researchers found that after adjusting for known risk factors, proteinuria was associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (risk ratio 1.47). The severity of albuminuria also affected the risk of coronary heart disease in an apparently dose-dependent manner, with microalbuminuria (urinary albumin 30-300 mg/day) and macroalbuminuria (urinary albumin greater than 300 mg/day) associated with higher risks of heart disease (risk ratio 1.47 and 2.17, respectively).

"These data confirm a strong and continuous association between proteinuria and subsequent risk of coronary heart disease, and suggest that proteinuria should be incorporated into the assessment of an individual's cardiovascular risk," Perkovic and colleagues conclude.

The study authors report financial relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.

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