Blood test may predict future heart, kidney risk for Type 2 diabetics

A simple blood test may predict the risk of progressive heart and kidney disease in people with Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, according to new research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.

Lead author James Januzzi said, “High levels of certain biomarkers are indicators of heart and kidney complications and may help predict future risk of disease progression.Treatment with canagliflozin, a sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor, lowered biomarker levels and reduced the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and other heart complications in people at the highest risk.”

The researchers analyzed biomarker data from the blood samples of 2,627 people who participated in the Canagliflozin and Renal Events in Diabetes with Established Nephropathy Clinical Evaluation (CREDENCE) trial to assess the effects of canagliflozin on concentrations of the four biomarkers from the study start, the one-year mark and the three-year mark. The analysis found:

High concentrations of each biomarker at the beginning of the study were strongly predictive of the severity of the participant’s heart and kidney issues.

The concentrations of each of the four biomarkers in people taking canagliflozin were lower after one year and three years compared to those taking the placebo.

After one year, the levels of all biomarkers in participants who took canagliflozin rose 3% to 10%, compared to an increase of 6% to 29% in the those who took the placebo.

Reference: Cardiorenal Biomarkers, Canagliflozin, and Outcomes in Diabetic Kidney Disease: The CREDENCE Trial, Circulation. DOI 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065251