other predictors of death among black diabetics.
Specifically, researchers for the first time compared suPAR levels to results from a common screening method known as coronary artery calcium scan that doctors use to assess for heart disease risk. The suPAR markers were measured against scores from the calcium scans that gauge calcified plaque that can plug the arteries of the heart. SuPAR also was compared to levels of another protein in the blood that indicates inflammation when detected at high levels.
The study found that elevated suPAR levels were a better predictor of death than the other risk predictors. It also found that diabetics who relied on insulin to control their disease had significantly higher suPAR levels compared to those who didn’t need insulin.
Overall, higher levels of suPAR were associated with more than double the risk of deaths.
The findings could eventually help scientists identify which type 2 diabetics are more at risk of death and could lead to more personalized treatments. For example, checking suPAR levels could help guide doctors to know which patients need or don’t need to be put on statins, a medication usually prescribed to diabetics to reduce their cholesterol and risk for heart disease, said the report’s lead author, Dr. Salim Hayek. He’s a cardiology fellow at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Similarly, assessing levels of the biomarker in diabetics also could help doctors in deciding which patients might need heart procedures like stenting to open clogged coronary arteries or more invasive bypass surgery.
“Until now, despite multiple studies, we’ve had difficulty determining who would benefit more from bypass surgery versus stenting,” Hayek said.
In the study, researchers examined blood work from 500 black Americans with type 2 diabetes. Of that sample, 68 had