Indexes of Kidney Function and Coronary Artery and Abdominal Aortic Calcium (from the Framingham Offspring Study)

It is uncertain whether moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) or measures of kidney function are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis as represented by coronary artery calcium (CAC) or abdominal aortic calcium (AAC). We used logistic and linear regression analyses to relate CKD (glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m2), cystatin C (cysC), and microalbuminuria (MA) with CAC and AAC obtained using multidetector computed tomography in Framingham Heart Study Offspring participants (mean age 59 years, 55.3% women). Increased CAC and AAC were defined as ≥90th percentile age- and gender-specific cutpoints based on a healthy referent sample. Major cardiovascular disease risk factors were accounted for in multivariable models. Of 1,179 participants, 1,174 had AAC measurements and 1,147 had CAC measurements, 6.3% had CKD, and 8.3% had MA. CKD was not associated with CAC (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio [OR] for CKD 1.18, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 2.36, p = 0.63) or AAC (multivariable-adjusted OR for CKD 1.11, 95% confidence interval 0.61 to 2.04, p = 0.73). CysC was associated with CAC in age- and gender-adjusted but not in multivariable models (age- and gender-adjusted OR for log cysC per SD increment and CAC 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 1.41, p = 0.04; multivariable-adjusted OR 1.14, 95% confidence interval 0.95 to 1.38, p = 0.15). MA was not associated with CAC (OR 0.81, 95% confidence interval 0.41 to 1.61, p = 0.54). Neither cysC nor MA was significantly associated with AAC in age- and gender- or multivariable-adjusted models. In conclusion, CKD, cysC, and MA are not associated with CAC or AAC when accounting for cardiovascular disease risk factors.