APOL1 risk variants and subclinical cardiovascular disease in incident hemodialysis patients

Abstract Introduction To better understand the impact of APOL1 risk variants in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) we evaluated associations of APOL1 risk variants with subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality among African Americans initiating hemodialysis and enrolled in the Predictors of Arrhythmic and Cardiovascular Risk in ESRD cohort study. Methods We modeled associations of APOL1 risk status (high=2; low=0/1 risk alleles) with baseline subclinical CVD (left ventricular [LV] hypertrophy; LV mass; ejection fraction; coronary artery calcification [CAC]; pulse wave velocity [PWV]) using logistic and linear regression and all-cause or cardiovascular mortality using Cox models, adjusting for age, sex and ancestry. In sensitivity analyses, we further adjusted for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and Charlson Comorbidity Index. Results Of 267 African American participants successfully genotyped for APOL1, 27% were high-risk carriers, 41% were female and mean age was 53 years. At baseline, APOL1 high- vs. low-risk status was independently associated with 50% and 53% lower odds of LV hypertrophy and CAC, respectively, and 10.7% lower LV mass. These associations were robust to further adjustment for comorbidities but not SBP. APOL1 risk status was not associated with all-cause or cardiovascular mortality (mean follow-up 2.5 years). Conclusion Among African American incident hemodialysis patients, APOL1 high-risk status was associated with better subclinical measures of CVD but not mortality.