Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
CONTEXT: -catenin signaling is an important mediator of mineralization and may play a role in vascular calcification. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the association between circulating Wnt antagonists and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) severity in elderly women. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional analysis of the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study. SETTING: The participants were recruited from the community-dwelling elderly population. PARTICIPANTS: We examined 768 women aged over 70 years. INTERVENTIONS: We collected blood samples, and lateral spine images captured during bone density assessment were used to score AAC with a validated 24-point scale. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We tested the hypothesis that low Wnt antagonist levels of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), secreted frizzled related protein 3 (sFRP3), and Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF1) are associated with severe AAC (AAC24 score > 5). RESULTS: = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: -catenin signaling is an important regulator of vascular mineral metabolism and is independent of other risk factors.
Touw et al. (Sun,) studied this question.