Soluble P-selectin levels are associated with cardiovascular mortality and sudden cardiac death in male dialysis patients

Background/aims: P-selectin is released by activated platelets and endothelium contributing to inflammation and thrombosis. We evaluated the association between soluble P-selectin and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in dialysis patients.

Methods: We measured soluble P-selectin in serum from 824 incident dialysis patients. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we modeled the association of P-selectin levels with ASCVD events, cardiovascular mortality and sudden cardiac death.

Results: After adjustment for demographics, comorbidity and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, higher P-selectin levels were associated with increased risk of ASCVD and cardiovascular mortality among males (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively), but not females (p = 0.52 and p = 0.31, respectively; p interaction = 0.003), over a median of 38.2 months. Higher P-selectin was associated with a greater risk of sudden cardiac death among males (p = 0.05). The associations between increasing P-selectin and cardiovascular mortality as well as sudden cardiac death in males persisted after adjustment for C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, serum albumin and platelet count (p = 0.01 and p = 0.03, respectively). The risk for sudden cardiac death was more than 3 times greater for males in the highest tertile of soluble P-selectin compared with the lowest tertile after adjustment (HR: 3.19; 95% CI: 1.18 - 8.62; p = 0.02).

Conclusion: P-selectin is associated with ASCVD, cardiovascular mortality and sudden cardiac death among male dialysis patients.