Proteomics-Based Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor Levels Are Associated With Incident Heart Failure Risk.

BACKGROUND

Higher soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels are associated with adverse outcomes in chronic heart failure (HF).

OBJECTIVES

The authors assessed the association between proteomics-based suPAR levels and incident HF risk in the general population.

METHODS

In 40,418 UK Biobank participants without HF or coronary artery disease at enrollment, the association between Olink-based suPAR levels measured as relative protein expression levels and incident all-cause, ischemic, and nonischemic HF was analyzed by competing-risk regression, while accounting for all-cause death as a competing risk. The additional variability in incident HF risk attributable to suPAR levels beyond demographics, traditional risk factors, N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels was assessed with nested Cox modeling and likelihood ratio testing.

RESULTS

The mean age was 56 years; 45% were male, and 94% were White. During a median follow-up of 13.7 (IQR: 1.5) years, 1,428 (3.5%) incident HF events occurred. Proteomics-based suPAR levels (per 1-SD) were independently associated with incident HF (subdistribution HR (sHR): 1.37, 95% CI: 1.29-1.46), ischemic HF (sHR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.28-1.54), and nonischemic HF (sHR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.21-1.44) risk, after adjustment for demographics, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, NT-proBNP, and CRP levels. The addition of suPAR levels to a base risk factor model significantly improved the explained variability of incident HF risk (  = 0.76 vs 0.73,  < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Independent of demographics, traditional risk factors, NT-proBNP, and CRP levels, proteomics-based suPAR levels were significantly associated with incident all-cause, ischemic, and nonischemic HF risk. Proteomics-based measurement of suPAR levels may underestimate the effect size of this relationship.