The fibrosis marker galectin-3 and outcome in the general population

Abstract

Objective. Galectin-3 is involved in fibrosis and inflammation and plays a role in heart failure, renal disease, obesity and cancer. We aimed to establish the relationship between galectin-3 and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and mortality in the general population. Design and subjects. This study included 7968 subjects from the Prevention of REnal and Vascular ENd-stage Disease (PREVEND) cohort, with a median follow-up of approximately 10years. Plasma galectin-3 was measured in baseline samples. Main outcome measures. We investigated the relationships between galectin-3 levels, demographic characteristics and risk factors of CV disease. We determined the prognostic value for all-cause, CV and cancer mortality. Results. The mean age of the population was 50± 13years. Mean blood pressure was 129/74mmHg, mean cholesterol was 5.7±1.1mmolL -1 and median galectin-3 was 10.9ngmL -1 [interquartile range (IQR) 9.0-13.1]. Galectin-3 levels correlated with a wide range of risk factors of CV disease, including blood pressure, serum lipids, body mass index, renal function and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (P<0.0001). We observed a strong association between galectin-3 and age. Furthermore, we found a gender interaction, with female subjects (n=4001) having higher median galectin-3 levels (11.0ng mL -1, IQR 9.1-13.4 vs. men (n=3967) 10.7 ngmL -1, IQR 8.9-12.8; P<0.0001), and galectin-3 levels in women more strongly correlated with risk factors of CV disease. After correction for the classical CV risk factors (smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes), galectin-3 levels independently predicted all-cause mortality (hazard ratio per SD galectin-3 1.09, 95% CI 1.01-1.19; P=0.036), but not CV and cancer mortality separately. Conclusions. Galectin-3 is associated with age and risk factors of CV disease, with a strong gender interaction for these correlations. Galectin-3 predicts all-cause mortality in the general population. © 2011 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.