Data from: Skin autofluorescence and subclinical atherosclerosis in mild to moderate chronic kidney disease: a case-control study

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are increased and predict mortality
in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are undergoing
hemodialysis, irrespective of the presence of type 2 diabetes. However,
little information exits about the relationship between AGEs and
subclinical atherosclerosis at the early stages of CKD. A case-control
study was performed including 87 patients with mild-to-moderate stages of
CKD (glomerular filtration rate from 89 to 30 ml/min/per 1.73m2) and 87
non-diabetic non-CKD subjects matched by age, gender, body mass index, and
waist circumference. Skin autofluorescence (AF), a non-invasive assessment
of AGEs, was measured. The presence of atheromatous disease in carotid and
femoral arteries was evaluated using vascular ultrasound, and vascular age
and SCORE risk were estimated. Patients with mild-to-moderate stages of
CKD showed an increase in skin AF compared with control subjects (2.5±0.6
vs. 2.2±0.4 AU, p<0.001). A skin AF value >2.0 AU was
accompanied by a 3-fold increased risk of detecting the presence of an
atheromathous plaque (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4–6.5, p = 0.006). When vascular
age was assessed through skin AF, subjects with CKD were almost 12 years
older than control subjects (70.3±25.5 vs. 58.5±20.2 years, p = 0.001).
Skin AF was negatively correlated with glomerular filtration rate (r =
-0.354, p<0.001) and LDL-cholesterol (r = -0.269, p = 0.001), and
positively correlated with age (r = 0.472, p<0.001), pulse pressure
(r = 0.238, p = 0.002), and SCORE risk (r = 0.451, p<0.001). A
stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed that age and glomerular
filtration rate independently predicted skin AF (R2 = 0.289,
p<0.001). Skin AF is elevated in patients with mild-to-moderate CKD
compared with control subjects. This finding may be independently
associated with the glomerular filtration rate and the presence of
subclinical atheromatous disease. Therefore, the use of skin AF may help
to accurately evaluate the real cardiovascular risk at the early stages of
CKD.