Association between high cystatin C levels and carotid atherosclerosis

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study population

Variables	Median (min, max) or n (%)
Age (yr)	70 (39, 87)
Sex (male)	98 (77)
Body-mass index (kg/m2)	24.2 (15.1, 38)
Lifestyle-related items
Current smokers	23 (18)
Alcohol consumers	78 (61)
No exercise habits	90 (70)
Visceral fat area (cm2)	125.2 (22.9, 281.7)
Clinical history
Ischemic heart disease, n (%)	6 (5)
Blood pressure
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	122 (92, 156)
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	68 (50, 86)
Diagnosed hypertension	61 (48)
Lipid metabolism
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)	194.5 (115, 727)
High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL)	54 (30, 96)
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL)	111 (41, 205)
Triglycerides (mg/dL)	99.5 (37, 593)
Diagnosed dyslipidemia	72 (56)
Glucose metabolism
Fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)	93.5 (74, 226)
Hemoglobin A1c (%)	5.3 (4.5, 8.3)
Diagnosed diabetes mellitus	29 (23)
Kidney function
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.75 (0.38, 1.36)
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (mL/min per 1.73 m2)	78.4 (38.9, 122.6)
Cystatin C (mg/L)	0.78 (0.49, 1.45)
Carotid ultrasonography
Right common carotid artery plaque thickness (mm)	0 (0, 3.6)
Right carotid bulb-internal carotid artery plaque thickness (mm)	1.5 (0, 5.5)
Left common carotid artery plaque thickness (mm)	0 (0, 2.8)
Left carotid bulb-internal carotid artery plaque thickness (mm)	1.5 (0, 4.2)
Right common carotid artery maximum intima- media thickness (mm)	1.0 (0.6, 1.9)
Left common carotid artery maximum intima- media thickness (mm)	1.0 (0.7, 2.3)

Table 2 Subject characteristics associated with cystatin C levels

Variables	Median (min, max) or n (%)		P value
	Higher cystatin C (≥ 0.73) (n = 79)	Lower cystatin C (< 0.73) (n = 49)
Age (yr)	72 (46, 87)	61 (39, 80)	< 0.011
Sex (male)	67 (85)	31 (63)	< 0.012
Body-mass index (kg/m2)	24.9 (17.0, 38.0)	23.5 (15.1, 30.2)	< 0.011
Visceral fat area (cm2)	142.7 (48.3, 281.7)	103.7 (22.9, 249.2)	< 0.011
Lifestyle habits
Current smokers	14 (23)	9 (19)	0.882
Alcohol consumers	47 (59)	31 (63)	0.672
No exercise habits	28 (35)	10 (20)	0.072
Diagnosed hypertension	48 (61)	13 (27)	< 0.012
Diagnosed dyslipidemia	45 (57)	27 (55)	0.842
Diagnosed diabetes mellitus	24 (30)	5 (10)	< 0.012
Kidney function
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.81 (0.45, 1.36)	0.62 (0.38, 0.97)	< 0.011
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (mL/min per 1.73 m2)	70.6 (38.9, 110.2)	88.7 (59.7, 122.6)	< 0.011
Carotid ultrasonography
Maximum carotid plaque thickness ≥ 2 mm	43 (54)	9 (18)	< 0.012

¹Student t test was used for estimating the significance;

²χ² test.

Table 3 Subject characteristics associated with maximum carotid plaque thickness

Variables	Median (min, max) or n (%)		P value
	MCPT ≥ 2 mm (n = 52)	MCPT < 2 mm (n = 76)
Age (yr)	72 (51, 87)	66 (39, 83)	< 0.011
Sex (male)	42 (81)	56 (74)	< 0.352
Body-mass index (kg/m2)	24.1 (17.0, 38.0)	24.3 (15.1, 31.7)	< 0.351
Visceral fat area (cm2)	138.9 (30.5, 281.7)	115.8 (22.9, 249.2)	< 0.101
Lifestyle habits
Current smokers	9 (17)	14 (18)	0.852
Alcohol consumers	28 (54)	50 (66)	0.172
No exercise habits	18 (35)	20 (26)	0.312
Diagnosed hypertension	32 (62)	29 (38)	< 0.012
Diagnosed dyslipidemia	29 (56)	43 (57)	0.932
Diagnosed diabetes mellitus	18 (35)	11 (14)	< 0.012
Kidney function
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.80 (0.45, 1.36)	0.75 (0.38, 1.17)	< 0.031
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (mL/min per 1.73 m2)	73.3 (38.9, 111.9)	80.2 (47.9, 122.6)	< 0.021
Cystatin C (mg/L)	0.83 (0.55, 1.45)	0.72 (0.49, 1.22)	< 0.011

¹Student t test was used for estimating the significance;

²χ² test.

Table 4 Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis for variables associated with an maximum carotid plaque thickness of ≥ 2 mm

Variables	Univariate		Multivariate1
	Odds ratio	95%CI	Odds ratio	95%CI
Cystatin C	5.31	2.27-12.39	2.92	1.13-7.99
Diabetes mellitus	3.13	1.33-7.37	1.82	0.70-4.86
Hypertension	2.59	1.26-5.36	1.56	0.69-3.53
Dyslipidemia	0.97	0.48-1.97
Current smoking	0.91	0.36-2.30
Alcohol consumers	0.61	0.29-1.25
Exercise habits	0.67	0.31-1.45
Visceral fat area ≥ 100 cm2	1.31	0.62-2.78
AICc2			158
3R2			0.16

¹Adjusted for age and sex;

²Akaike‘s Information Criterion;

³Coefficient of determination.