Preventive cardiology
Relation of Serum Osteocalcin Level to Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Chinese Adults

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Osteocalcin, a bone-derived polypeptide, was recently found to have hormonal function associated with metabolic disorders and atherosclerosis. Few studies have examined the association between circulating osteocalcin and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether serum osteocalcin concentration was associated with CHD risk and metabolic profiles in Chinese adults. A total of 461 subjects (243 with CHD and 218 without CHD) who underwent coronary angiography were included. Serum osteocalcin, glucose, lipid profiles, and other biochemical markers were measured. Severity of coronary atherosclerosis was estimated by number of diseased vessels. Results showed that serum osteocalcin levels were significantly lower in the CHD group (12.2 ng/ml, 9.5 to 15.1) than in the non-CHD group (13.6 ng/ml, 10.7 to 18.0, p = 0.001) and were significantly decreased with the increasing of number of diseased vessels (p = 0.005). Serum osteocalcin concentration was inversely correlated with fasting and post load 2 hour plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c (p = 0.044, 0.043, and 0.011, respectively), adjusting for CHD status. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of CHD across increasing quartiles of serum osteocalcin were 0.68 (0.42 to 1.12), 0.59 (0.36 to 0.98), and 0.40 (0.23 to 0.69). The test for trend was significant (p = 0.0007). Adjusting for age, body mass index, and other conventional risk factors for CHD did not appreciably change the results. Spline regression analyses indicated a linear relation between serum osteocalcin level and CHD risk. In conclusion, our data indicate that serum osteocalcin level was associated with decreased risk of CHD and protective metabolic changes in Chinese adults.

Section snippets

Methods

The present study included 461 consecutive patients (299 men and 162 women, age ranges 39 to 84 and 41 to 85 years, means 61.7 and 63.3, respectively) who were referred to the department of cardiology in Ruijin Hospital (Shanghai, China) because of symptoms in the chest such as chest pain, chest heaviness, periodic discomfort, and palpitations from January 2005 to December 2007. In all subjects, coronary angiography for diagnosis of CHD was performed. Those with medical illnesses such as acute

Results

Clinical characteristics of the CHD and non-CHD groups are listed in Table 1. Of participants included in this study, 243 (53%) were found to have CHD and 218 (47%) were found not to have CHD. Smoking history, alcohol use, type 2 diabetes percentage, HbA1c, post load 2h serum insulin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were significantly higher in the CHD group than in the non-CHD group (different at p ≤0.05).

Serum osteocalcin levels in the CHD group were significantly lower (12.2

Discussion

The present study for the first time evaluated associations of serum osteocalcin level with direct parameters of atherosclerosis and metabolic phenotype in Chinese adult patients who underwent coronary angiography. We found a significant association between serum osteocalcin level and a decreased risk of CHD. We also found that number of stenotic coronary arteries was associated with decreasing serum osteocalcin levels.

Our present findings are in accordance with a recent study by Kanazawa et al

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      A higher percentage of EPCs expresses OC in patients with coronary atherosclerosis as compared with the subjects having a normal endothelial function [10]. The data from other investigation showed that serum osteocalcin level was associated with decreased risk of CAD in Chinese adults [11]. Furthermore, observational studies have shown an inverse association between the intake of vitamin k2 and cardiovascular disease [12–14].

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    This study was supported by Grant 2006 AA 02A409 from the 863 Project, Beijing/China, Grants 30971077 and 30890043 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing/China, Grant Shdc12007309 from the Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, Shanghai/China, Grant 2008ZX09312/019 from the National Key New Drug Creation and Manufacturing Program, Beijing/China, and Grant 2008BAI52B03 from the National Key Technologies Research and Development Program, Beijing/China.

    Dr. Zhang and Dr. Qi contributed equally to this work.

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