Metabolic syndrome and its components associated with endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease patients

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is more common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) than in the general population. Endothelial dysfunction is an early predictor of cardiovascular events. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a cross-sectional study in CKD patients to explore the association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components with endothelial cell function. METHODS: We evaluated clinical and laboratory data in 161 CKD patients from stage 1 to stage 5. Endothelial function was estimated by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery and expressed as percentage change relative to baseline diameter. MetS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. RESULTS: Patients were grouped into two groups according to whether or not they had MetS. FMD was significantly lower in the MetS group than in the group without MetS (P = 0.012). In a Pearson's correlation analysis, FMD was significantly negatively correlated with waist circumference in women (r = -0.223, P = 0.03) and fasting blood glucose (r = -0.186, P = 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that fasting blood glucose was an independently associated factor for FMD. CONCLUSION: MetS and some components of MetS (waist circumference in women and fasting blood glucose) are closely associated with a decreased FMD in CKD patients.