Association of serum lactate levels with abdominal aortic calcification in patients of non-dialysis chronic kidney disease

Aim: To investigate the relationship between serum lactate levels and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in patients of non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: Non-dialysis CKD patients were enrolled in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. AAC was assessed by lateral lumbar spine radiography, and serum lactate levels were measured for all participants. Demographic and laboratory data were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 183 non-dialysis CKD patients were enrolled in this study. Of the 183 CKD patients, 75 (40.98%) had no AAC, while 108 (59.02%) had AAC. The calcified group exhibited higher ages, diabetes mellitus prevalence, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and serum lactate levels compared to the non-calcified group ( p < 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between the abdominal aortic calcification score (AACS) and serum lactate ( p < 0.05). A logistic regression model was used to evaluate factors influencing AAC. The results showed that age, HbA1c, and serum lactate were risk factors for AAC severity in non-dialysis CKD patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that the area under the curve (AUC) for serum lactate in predicting AAC was 0.696. A nomogram that demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity of AAC in non-dialysis CKD patients. Conclusion: Serum lactate is closely associated with AAC in non-dialysis CKD patients. Targeting serum lactate may be a new strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular calcification in CKD.