Association of Beta-2-Microglobulin With Coronary Heart Disease and All-Cause Mortality in the United States General Population.

Few prospective studies explored the association of beta-2-microglobulin (B2M) with coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality. The primary objective of this study was to examine the association of serum B2M with CHD and all-cause mortality. This is a prospective cohort study of a nationally representative sample of 4,885 adults, aged 40-85 years, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) from 1988 to 1994. The relationships between B2M and CHD and all-cause mortality were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. During a median follow-up of 15.5 years, 845 CHD and 3,388 all-cause deaths occurred among 4,885 participants [2,568 women (55.7%); mean (S.D.) age, 66.4 (12.5) years], respectively. In the unadjusted model, B2M concentration was strongly linearly associated with CHD and all-cause mortality (-trend < 0.001). After adjusting multivariable factors, a positive linear association between B2M and all-cause mortality was still observed (H.R. for Q4 vs. Q1 5.90; 95% CI: 5.31-6.57; -trend < 0.001). In the multivariable adjustment model, B2M was significantly associated with an increased risk of CHD mortality (H.R. for Q4 vs. Q1 2.72; 95% CI: 2.07-3.57; -trend < 0.001). In the stratified analyses, the associations of B2M with CHD and all-cause mortality varied by risk factors, such as age, smoking status, and history of hypertension. The findings suggest a significant relationship between the higher serum B2M concentration and increased risk for CHD and all-cause mortality. Further large-scale follow-up studies are also needed to validate this association.