Background: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of subclinical coronary artery disease (CAD) in first-degree relatives (FDRs) with premature CAD and its associating factors other than conventional risk factors.
Methods: A total of 122 FDRs (58 men, 50±7 years) of patients with premature CAD were enrolled. The individuals who had undergone health checkups were included in the control group. Multidetector coronary computed tomography was performed to detect subclinical CAD.
Results: The prevalence of subclinical CAD (35 vs. 14%, P<0.001) and at least 50% subclinical CAD (16 vs. 2.5%, P<0.001) was higher in FDRs than that in the control group. In conditional regression analysis, the urinary albumin-creatinine ratio showed a significant interaction with CAD in FDRs than the control (odds ratio 1.063, 95% confidence interval 1.009-1.118, P=0.021).
Conclusion: FDRs of premature CAD are more prevalent in subclinical CAD independent of conventional risk factors. Urinary albumin-creatinine ratio may have an interaction with the development of subclinical CAD in FDRs of premature CAD.