Higher Blood Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 is Related to the Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

BACKGROUND: Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is associated with vascular-related inflammation and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to evaluate whether VCAM-1 can be used for an indication of increased risk of CV events in patients with COPD. METHODS: Serum VCAM-1 levels were measured in 163 COPD patients. All COPD patients were prospectively followed up for a median period of 48 months (range=3–54). Cox proportional hazard analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of serum VCAM-1 for predicting CV events. RESULTS: Serum VCAM-1 levels were higher in COPD patients with CV events than in those without CV events (1174.4±365.3 ng/mL vs 947.8±293.2 ng/mL; P<0.001). The logistic regression analysis revealed that serum VCAM-1 (OR=1.750; 95% CI, 1.324–2.428; P(trend)=0.0012) was independently associated with CVD (cardiovascular disease) history after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, current smoker, current drinker, admission systolic and diastolic BP, LVEF and laboratory measurements in patients with COPD at baseline. The Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that the rate of CV events was higher in COPD patients with serum VCAM-1 levels above the median (517.3 ng/mL) than in those with VCAM-1 levels below the median. The Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that serum VCAM-1 (HR=2.617; 95% CI, 1.673–5.328; P(trend)<0.001) may be an independent prognostic factor for CV events in the COPD patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that serum VCAM-1 was significantly and independently associated with CV events in COPD patients. The inflammatory marker may help clinicians predict CV complications early.