Circulating Retinol-Binding Protein 4 and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease in the Elderly
- Erik Ingelsson, MD, PHD1 and
- Lars Lind, MD, PHD2
- 1Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;
- 2Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Corresponding author: Erik Ingelsson, erik.ingelsson{at}ki.se.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We evaluated associations of serum retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) with subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD).
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Subclinical CVD was measured with echocardiography, carotid artery ultrasound, brachial artery ultrasound, and invasive forearm endothelial vasoreactivity in 1,008 70-year-old participants (50% women) of the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study.
RESULTS In analyses adjusted for multiple CVD risk factors, we observed inverse associations of RBP4 with carotid artery intima-media (β −0.39, 95% CI −0.55 to −0.22) and plaque (β −0.33, 95% CI −0.60 to −0.05) echogenicity (gray scale median).
CONCLUSIONS Circulating RBP4 concentrations were inversely associated with intima-media and plaque echogenicity in carotid arteries. These findings imply that RBP4 could be involved in the development of atherosclerosis.
Footnotes
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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- Received September 8, 2008.
- Accepted December 17, 2008.
- © 2009 by the American Diabetes Association.
