Predicting Mortality in African Americans With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor, Coronary Artery Calcium, and High‐Sensitivity C‐Reactive Protein

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, outcomes in individual patients vary. Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a bone marrow-derived signaling molecule associated with adverse cardiovascular and renal outcomes in many populations. We characterized the determinants of suPAR in African Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus and assessed whether levels were useful for predicting mortality beyond clinical characteristics, coronary artery calcium (CAC), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured plasma suPAR levels in 500 African Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus enrolled in the African American-Diabetes Heart Study. We used Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for clinical characteristics, CAC, and hs-CRP to examine the association between suPAR and all-cause mortality. Last, we report the change in C-statistics comparing the additive values of suPAR, hs-CRP, and CAC to clinical models for prediction of mortality. The suPAR levels were independently associated with female sex, smoking, insulin use, decreased kidney function, albuminuria, and CAC. After a median 6.8-year follow-up, a total of 68 deaths (13.6%) were recorded. In a model incorporating suPAR, CAC, and hs-CRP, only suPAR was significantly associated with mortality (hazard ratio 2.66, 95% confidence interval 1.63-4.34). Addition of suPAR to a baseline clinical model significantly improved the C-statistic for all-cause death (Δ0.05, 95% confidence interval 0.01-0.10), whereas addition of CAC or hs-CRP did not. CONCLUSIONS: In African Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus, suPAR was strongly associated with mortality and improved risk discrimination metrics beyond traditional risk factors, CAC and hs-CRP. Studies addressing the clinical usefulness of measuring suPAR concentrations are warranted.