The Relation between Serum Endostatin Level and Carotid Atherosclerosis in Healthy Residents of Japan: Results from the Kyushu and Okinawa Population Study (KOPS)

Aim: To examine the association between the serum endostatin levels and subclinical atherosclerosis independent of traditional risk factors in a healthy Japanese population. Methods: Among 1,057 residents who attended free public physical examinations between 2010 and 2011, we evaluated the data of 648 healthy residents for whom the serum endostatin level and common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were successfully measured. Results: The median endostatin level was 63.7 ng/mL (interquartile ranges: 49.7–93.2 ng/mL), and the mean carotid IMT was 0.68 ± 0.12 mm. Residents with above median endostatin had significantly higher carotid IMT than did those with below median endostatin (0.71 ± 0.14 vs. 0.65 ± 0.09 mm, P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that increased serum endostatin is significantly associated with carotid IMT (above vs. below median endostatin level; beta = 0.11, P = 0.03), independent of the known covariates of age, sex, body mass index, drinking and smoking status, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and log-transformed high sensitive C-reactive protein. Conclusions: A higher serum endostatin level reflected subclinical atherosclerosis in this Japanese population.