The Impact of β2-Microglobulin Clearance on the Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease in Hemodialysis Patients

beta2-Microglobulin (beta2M) is an independent predictor of outcome for hemodialysis (HD) patients and a representative substance of middle molecules. We tested the relationship among serum beta2M levels and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in HD patients. A total of 132 HD patients were divided according to the dialysis membrane used [property; cellulose and synthetic or beta2M clearance; low filtration (LF), middle filtration (MF), and high filtration (HF)]. There was no significant difference in CVD risk factors between cellulose and synthetic groups. On the other hand, serum beta2M, highly-sensitive C-reactive protein (hCRP), troponin-T (TnT), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels of LF were significantly higher and those of prealbumin (PA) were lower than the MF and HF. Serum beta2M level was positively correlated with hCRP, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), MPO, TnT, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and inversely correlated with PA and ankle-brachial index (ABI). There was a significant correlation between serum beta2M levels and various CVD risk factors in HD. Cardiovascular disease risk factors in HD patients were dependent on the beta2M clearance but not membrane property.