Association Between Pulse Wave Velocity and a Marker of Renal Tubular Damage ( N ‐Acetyl‐β‐ D ‐Glucosaminidase) in Patients Without Diabetes

The authors assessed the association between the ratio of urinary activity of N‐acetyl‐β‐D‐glucosaminidase ( NAG ) to creatinine and the brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity (ba PWV ) in patients without overt diabetes mellitus ( DM ). This was a cross‐sectional study of 233 patients who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate ( eGFR ) ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 and no history of kidney disease. Patients were divided into two groups: high NAG group (>5.8 U/g creatinine) and low NAG group (≤5.8 U/g creatinine). Mean ba PWV s of the high NAG group were significantly higher than those of the low NAG group in both the eGFR ≥30 and <60 tertiles and the eGFR ≥60 and <90 tertiles. The ba PWV was positively correlated with NAG in all patients ( r =0.341, P <.001). Stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed that the ba PWV was significantly related with NAG , age, and systolic blood pressure. Elevated NAG is related to elevated arterial stiffness in patients without DM .