Serum Visfatin Levels in Pediatric Hemodialysis Patients: Association with Circulating HDL-Cholesterol

Journal of Clinical and Basic Cardiology 2010; 13 (1-4): 19-22

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Keywords: children,  end-stage renal disease,  HDL cholesterol,  hemodialysis,  visfatin

Background: Visfatin has recently been defined as an adipocytokine. Increased circulating visfatin may be associated with both endothelial damage and increased mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). HDL cholesterol is an independent, strong inverse predictor of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to assess serum visfatin levels in hemodialysis (HD) patients in correlation with parameters of lipid metabolism as well as markers of inflammation. Methods: A total of 26 HD children (mean age 11.66 ± 4.01 years) and 15 healthy age- and sex-matched controls (HC) (mean age 9.0 ± 2.16 years) were studied. Serum visfatin levels as well as parameters of lipid profile and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured in all studied groups. Results: Serum visfatin levels were significantly increased in HD children compared to the healthy control group (p = 0.006). Within the HD group, serum visfatin levels were positively correlated with hs-CRP (p = 0.04) and serum triglycerides (p = 0.02) but inversely correlated with HDL cholesterol (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Visfatin is a beneficial indicator of lipid profile in HD patients. Reduced circulating HDL cholesterol may hint at an increased probability of cardiovascular events in HD patients with elevated serum visfatin concentration. Visfatin may reflect the inflammatory status in HD patients.