Evaluation of cardiovascular events and progression to end-stage renal disease in patients with dyslipidemia and chronic kidney disease from the North-Eastern area of Romania

Purpose The aim of this prospective cohort study was: to identify the association between different biomarkers [proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9-PCSK9, lipoprotein(a)-Lp(a) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein-hsCRP] and the cardiovascular events; to evaluate the relationship between the 3 biomarkers mentioned above and the renal outcomes that contributed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Methods We studied 110 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 2 to 4. The identification of the new cardiovascular events and the renal outcomes were performed by clinical and paraclinical explorations. Results 350 patients were examined and 110 (31.4%) were included in this study. The mean age was 55.6 +/- 10.9 years, with a higher number of men compared to women. The CKD patients with de novo cardiovascular events and new renal outcome during the study, had significantly increased values of total cholesterol (TC), low density cholesterol lipoprotein (LDL-C) at 6 and 12 months and higher levels of Lp(a), PCSK9, hsCRP and low ankle-brachial index (ABI) and ejection fraction (EF) values compared to patients without cardiovascular and renal events. In CKD patients, PCSK9 > 220 ng/mL was a predictor of cardiovascular events, while the EF < 50% was a predictor for renal outcomes. For CKD patients with PCSK9 > 220 ng/mL and hsCRP > 3 mg/L levels, the time-interval for the new cardiovascular and renal events occurrence were significantly decreased compared to patients displaying low values of these biomarkers. Conclusion The results of this study show that PCSK9 > 220 ng/mL was predictor for cardiovascular events, while EF < 50% was predictor for CKD progression to ESRD. PCSK9 > 220 ng/mL and hsCRP > 3 mg/L were associated with the occurrence of renal and cardiovascular events earlier.

Automated summary

The study revealed that PCSK9 > 220 ng/mL was a predictor for cardiovascular events, while EF < 50% was a predictor for CKD progression to ESRD. Additionally, high levels of PCSK9 and hsCRP were associated with an earlier occurrence of renal and cardiovascular events.