Association Between Renal Dysfunction and Low HDL Cholesterol Among the Elderly in China

• Main Authors: Aijun You, Yaxin Li, Brian Tomlinson, Longfei Yue, Kaijie Zhao, Huimin Fan, Zhongmin Liu, Yuzhen Zhang, Liang Zheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-05-01
• Series: Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
• Subjects: renal dysfunction; dyslipidemia; estimated glomerular filtration rate; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; cardiovascular prevention
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2021.644208/full

Objective: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) have a high morbidity and mortality among the elderly. Low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), a traditional risk marker for CVD, are common in CKD patients. Little is known about the association of low HDL-C with renal dysfunction in the community dwelling population.Methods: This was a population-based cross-sectional study included 4,753 participants enrolled in a prospective study, the Shanghai Elderly Cardiovascular Health (SHECH) study. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), calculated by the Chinese Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (C-MDRD equation), was used to assess renal dysfunction. Associations between renal dysfunction and low HDL-C were evaluated using multiple logistic regression models and restricted cubic splines.Results: Of 4,649 individuals who met inclusion criteria, 620 (13.34%) had low HDL-C at <40 mg/dl. In the fully adjusted model, lower eGFR of <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.21–3.43) and marginal eGFR of 60 to 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01–1.58) were significantly associated with low HDL-C, compared with normal eGFR of ≥90 ml/min/1.73 m2. Moreover, consistent findings were obtained in subsidiary analyses using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation. Fully adjusted cubic spline models indicated a significant dose-response relationship between eGFR and low HDL-C (P for non-linearity, 0.356).Conclusion: In this general elderly population, renal dysfunction was independently and significantly associated with low HDL-C, and the prevalence of low HDL-C increased with decreasing eGFR, such that even slight changes in renal function may be associated with altered lipid levels.