Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40156700›Full record

ArticleJournal of nephrology2025

Serum zinc level is associated with aortic arch calcification in incident dialysis patients.

Yosuke Saka, Tomohiko Naruse, Yuichi Katsurayama, Yuki Sato, Shun Ito, Motoki Anbe, Yusuke Kakizaki, Hiroshi Takahashi, Yuzo Watanabe

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Article in Journal of nephrology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Yosuke SakaDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. yosukesaka@hospital.kasugai.aichi.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4167-7654
Tomohiko NaruseDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Yuichi KatsurayamaDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Yuki SatoDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Shun ItoDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Motoki AnbeDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Yusuke KakizakiDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Hiroshi TakahashiDepartment of Nephrology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Yuzo WatanabeDepartment of Nephrology, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Takakicho 1-1-1, Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAortic calcification is a predictor of cardiovascular events. Several studies have shown an association between zinc deficiency and aortic calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We therefore investigated the associations between serum zinc levels and aortic arch calcifications in incident patients on dialysis.

methodsWe analyzed data from 773 patients who started dialysis at our hospital between January 2013 and December 2023. Aortic arch calcification was graded 0-3 on chest X-ray, as follows: grade 0, no visible calcification; grade 1, < 50% calcification in the arch; grade 2, 50% calcification; or grade 3, circumferential calcification. We defined grades 2-3 as severe calcification. We stratified patients into tertiles of serum zinc levels.

resultsMedian serum zinc levels were 51, 47 and 44 μg/dL in patients with grade 0, 1 and 2-3 aortic arch calcification, respectively (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, low serum zinc level was independently associated with aortic arch calcification (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.84-5.27; p < 0.001), particularly with severe aortic arch calcification (OR 6.91, 95% CI 3.11-15.40; p < 0.001). Adding serum zinc level to a model with established risk factors for aortic arch calcification ameliorated net reclassification (0.308; p < 0.001) and integrated discrimination improvement (0.018; p = 0.0074). More robust findings for net reclassification improvement (0.427; p < 0.001) and integrated discrimination improvement (0.035; p < 0.001) were observed with severe aortic arch calcifications.

conclusionLow serum zinc level was independently associated with aortic arch calcification, and in particular, with severe aortic arch calcifications, among patients who started dialysis.

Indexed as

Aorta, ThoracicAortic DiseasesRenal DialysisRenal Insufficiency, ChronicVascular CalcificationZincAgedFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsSeverity of Illness IndexZincChronic kidney diseaseIncident dialysisVascular calcificationZinc deficiency

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.