Progression of Aortic Arch Calcification Is Associated with Overall and Cardiovascular Mortality in Hemodialysis
Table 1
Comparison of baseline characteristics in patients classified by AoAC nonprogression or AoAC progression.
Characteristics
All patients ()
AoAC progression (−) ()
AoAC progression (+) ()
Baseline AoAC
4 (1–8)
4 (0–8.75)
4 (2–6.75)
0.481
ΔAoAC
0 (-2, 1)
-1 (-2, 0)
2 (1, 3)
<0.001
Age (years)
0.151
Men (%)
42.1
43.3
38.9
0.646
Hemodialysis vintage (years)
5.5 (3.2–8.4)
5.3 (3.1–8.4)
6.1 (3.4–8.5)
0.647
Smoking history (%)
24.3
25.0
22.2
0.738
Diabetes mellitus (%)
34.3
29.8
47.2
0.058
Coronary artery disease (%)
25.0
24.0
27.8
0.655
Cerebrovascular disease (%)
7.9
5.8
13.9
0.119
Pulse pressure (mmHg)
0.051
Body mass index (kg/m2)
0.829
ABI
0.744
baPWV (cm/s)
0.017
CTR (%)
0.292
Laboratory parameters
Albumin (g/dL)
0.046
Fasting glucose (mg/dL)
0.147
Triglycerides (mg/dL)
125.5 (86–209.3)
127.5 (86–215.5)
122.5 (82.3–182.5)
0.453
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)
0.088
Hemoglobin (g/dL)
0.430
Creatinine (mg/dL)
0.017
Calcium-phosphate product (mg2/dL2)
0.528
Uric acid (mg/dL)
0.136
iPTH (pg/mL)
438.6 (196.6–858.4)
447.5 (212.4–870.7)
353.1 (146.7–748.3)
0.426
CRP (mg/L)
0.26 (0.10–0.64)
0.27 (0.09–0.62)
0.26 (0.13–0.79)
0.502
(Daugirdas)
0.817
Medications
Calcium carbonate (%)
74.3
76.0
69.4
0.441
Active vitamin D (%)
35.7
37.5
30.6
0.454
Abbreviations: AoAC: aortic arch calcification; ABI: ankle-brachial index; baPWV: brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity; CTR: cardiothoracic ratio; iPTH: intact parathyroid hormone; CRP: C-reactive protein. The ΔAoAC was defined as AoAC measured at the second year follow-up minus AoAC measured at the baseline. Patients with were considered as AoAC progression (+).
