Association Between Pulse Wave Velocity and a Marker of Renal Tubular Damage (N-Acetyl-β-D-Glucosaminidase) in Patients Without Diabetes

The authors assessed the association between the ratio of urinary activity of N-acetyl--D-glucosaminidase (NAG) to creatinine and the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in patients without overt diabetes mellitus (DM). This was a cross-sectional study of 233 patients who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 30mL/min/1.73m(2) and no history of kidney disease. Patients were divided into two groups: high NAG group (>5.8U/gcreatinine) and low NAG group (5.8U/gcreatinine). Mean baPWVs of the high NAG group were significantly higher than those of the low NAG group in both the eGFR 30 and <60tertiles and the eGFR 60 and <90tertiles. The baPWV was positively correlated with NAG in all patients (r=0.341, P<.001). Stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed that the baPWV was significantly related with NAG, age, and systolic blood pressure. Elevated NAG is related to elevated arterial stiffness in patients without DM. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.