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 (P(for 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.