Proteinuria and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate independently predict risk for acute myocardial infarction: Findings from a population-based study in Keelung, Taiwan

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the independent roles of proteinuria and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in the development of acute myocardial infarction in a northern Taiwanese population. Methods: We conducted a community-based prospective cohort study in Keelung, the northernmost county of Taiwan. A total of 63,129 subjects (63% women) 蠇 20 years of age who had no history of coronary heart disease were recruited and followed-up. Univariate and multivariate proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to assess the association between proteinuria and estimated GFR and the risk of acute myocardial infarction. Results: There were 305 new cases of acute myocardial infarction (114 women and 191 men) documented during a four-year follow-up period. After adjustment of potential confounding covariates, heavier proteinuria (dipstick urinalysis reading 3+) and estimated GFR of less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m² independently predicted increased risk of developing acute myocardial infarction. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of heavier proteinuria for occurrence of acute myocardial infarction was 1.85 [95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.17-2.91, p <0.01] (vs. the reference group: negative dipstick proteinuria). The aHR of estimated GFR of 30-59 ml/min/1.73 m² for occurrence of acute myocardial infarction was 2.4 (95% CI, 1.31-4.38, p <0.01) (vs. the reference group: estimated GFR 蠇 90 ml/min/1.73 m²), and that of estimated GFR of 15-29 ml/min/1.73 m² was 5.26 (95% CI, 2.26-12.26, p <0.01). Conclusions: We demonstrated that both heavier proteinuria and lower estimated GFR are significant independent predictors of developing future acute myocardial infarction in a northern Taiwanese population.