Association Between Higher Serum Fetuin-A Concentrations and Abnormal Albuminuria in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese With Normal Glucose Tolerance

OBJECTIVE To study the association of serum fetuin-A as a potential risk factor with abnormal albuminuria in Chinese individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The cross-sectional analysis included 607 men and 1,042 women aged 40 or older with NGT. RESULTS Women with combined microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria (n=68) had significantly higher serum fetuin-A concentrations than those with normal albumin excretion (n=974) (314.3 vs. 280.4 mg/l, P=0.007). Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of serum fetuin-A had 40% increased risk of abnormal albuminuria after the multiple adjustments in women (Pfor trend=0.02). However, the associations were not detected in men. CONCLUSIONS Higher serum fetuin-A was associated with abnormal albuminuria independent of BMI, waist circumference, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, blood pressure, and other determinants of albuminuria in middle-aged and elderly Chinese women with NGT.