Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor and the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease in Young Chinese Patients

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.