Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is common among individuals with stage 3 CKD, data show. Bryan R. Kestenbaum, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues studied 562 adult patients with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) and without clinical cardiovascular disease.
The patients were participants in the community-based Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Of the 562 subjects, 98% had stage 3 CKD at baseline (median eGFR of 55.4). The investigators measured CAC at baseline and again approximately 1.6 or 3.2 years later.
At baseline, 370 subjects (66%) had CAC and 192 (34%) did not, according to a report in Kidney International (2009;76:991-998).
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The prevalence was 24% lower in African Americans than in Caucasians after adjusting for numerous potential confounders. CAC developed in 39 (20%) who did not have it at baseline, for an estimated incidence of 8.5% per year.
The incidence of CAC was 6.1% per year in women and 14.8% per year in men. CAC progressed in about 17% of subjects per year across all subgroups. Additionally, the study demonstrated that diabetes was associated with a 65% greater adjusted risk of progression.
