Abstract
BACKGROUND: Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a novel marker of chronic inflammation and is considered to be a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) in Caucasians. This study investigated the role of suPAR in young Chinese patients with CAD. METHODS: The study involved a total of 196 consecutive young (age ≤ 55 years) patients with angiographically proven CAD and 188 age-matched non-CAD individuals as controls. Traditional risk factors were evaluated using conventional assays, and levels of suPAR were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS: Levels of suPAR were significantly correlated with age (r = 0.20, P = 0.04), smoking (r = 0.33, P = 0.008), body mass index (r = 0.21, P = 0.03), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP; r = 0.31, P = 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male sex (odds ratio (OR) = 3.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.18-8.25, P = 0.02), smoking (OR = 3.41, 95% CI = 1.55-7.50, P = 0.002), triglyceride (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.10-3.25, P = 0.02), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.02-0.03, P = 0.03), and suPAR (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.09-1.72, P = 0.007) were independently associated with CAD risk in young patients. CONCLUSIONS: SuPAR is a novel independent risk factor for CAD in young Chinese patients. Further studies evaluating the effect of anti-inflammatory treatment on the suPAR levels and the risk of CAD are needed.