Correlation of Cystatin C- and Creatinine-Based Renal Equations With Lipid Parameters in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Case-Control Study

Introduction Dyslipidemia is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Therefore, it is essential to identify cardiovascular risk at the earliest. Cystatin C is a novel biomarker due to its high sensitivity relative to creatinine for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Aim This study aimed to assess the correlation between cystatin C- and creatinine-based eGFR (using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equations) and lipid parameters (total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C)) in adult CKD patients versus age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Materials and methods This case-control study was carried out at Dhiraj General Hospital, Piparia, Gujarat, India. A total of 100 participants were enrolled, including 50 CKD patients and 50 healthy controls. Serum creatinine, cystatin C, and lipid profile were measured. eGFR was calculated using MDRD (creatinine-based) and CKD-EPI (cystatin C-based) equations. Correlations between creatinine- and cystatin C-based eGFR with lipid parameters were assessed. Results CKD patients demonstrated significantly higher serum creatinine (11.64±5.86 mg/dl) and cystatin C (6.39±2.11 mg/dl) levels compared to controls. Patients with CKD had significantly elevated levels of serum TG and VLDL-C, whereas HDL-C was significantly lower compared to the controls (p<0.05). TC, LDL-C, TC/HDL ratio, and LDL/HDL ratio showed no statistically significant differences in the study groups (p>0.05). Correlation analysis revealed no significant association between cystatin C-based and creatinine-based eGFR with lipid parameters (p>0.05). However, cystatin C-based eGFR showed relatively stronger negative correlation with TC (r=-0.1603), LDL-C (r=-0.1913), and LDL/HDL ratio (r=-0.1855) compared with creatinine-based eGFR. Conclusion Correlations between eGFR and lipid parameters were weak and not statistically significant; however, cystatin C-based eGFR showed a relatively stronger, though non-significant, association with lipid parameters compared with creatinine-based eGFR. Larger studies are required to further explore these relationships.