Relationship between renal volume and atherosclerosis in nondiabetic hypertensive patients with normal glomerular filtration rate

ABSTRACT

Background: The association between cystatin C (CysC) and atherosclerosis has been shown in numerous studies in hypertensive patients and in various patient groups with high cardiovascular risk. The study examining the association between renal volume and atherosclerosis is very limited. This study aimed to investigate whether there is an association between the presence of atherosclerosis with CysC and renal volume in hypertensive patients.

Methods: 133 hypertensive patients and 80 healthy volunteers were evaluated. CysC level was studied in the blood sample taken from all participants. Carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and renal volume were measured with ultrasound always by the same radiologist. Laboratory findings, CysC, CIMT, and renal volume measurements of the groups were compared statistically.

Results: There was no significant difference in mean renal volume values between hypertension and control groups. There was no significant correlation between renal volume with albuminuria and proteinuria. CIMT was significantly higher in hypertension group than in control group (p = .003). There was a significant correlation between renal volume and CIMT, which is an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis (r = 0.213, p = .001). Renal volume was found to be an independent predictor of CIMT when corrected with variables such as age, BMI, serum LDL-cholesterol level, creatinine, CysC, and albumin-to-creatinine ratio.

Conclusion: Ultrasonographic renal volume measurement, which is easy to perform and does not take a long time, can be a useful method for predicting the presence of atherosclerosis in hypertensive patients with GFR >60 ml/min.

KEYWORDS:

• Cystatin C
• hypertension
• renal volume
• atherosclerosis