Association between Vitamin K Status and Ankle Brachial Index as a Marker of Atherosclerosis in Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patients suffering from CKD due to increased triglyceride plasma content and decreased HDL levels are
at higher risk of atherosclerosis. CKD patients are known to be prone to vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K by means of
Matrix Gla Protein (MGP) helps prevent formation of arterial plaques. Thus, lower vitamin K levels may be reflected by the
increase in plasma up-uc MGP thereby making it a potential indicator of Vitamin D deficiency. This research aims to prove
that vitamin K deficiency in a CKD population increases the chances of cardiovascular problems by virtue of arterial plaque
formation.
METHODS: This is an observational study done among patients presenting to the Nephrology Out Patient Department of a
tertiary care medical college and hospital situated in South India. The collection of data involved food frequency
questionnaires for dietary intake of vitamins K and D, Ankle Brachial Index (ABI) measurement using a handheld arterial
Doppler and blood samples for analysis of plasma up-uc MGP. CONCLUSION: In this study 56 stage III-V CKD patients
with a mean age of 56.04 ±6.23 years were studied of which 55.36% were male and 44.64% were female. The 56 patients
were divided into two groups based on their glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of which 46.43% belonged to Group A and
53.57% belonged to Group B. With progression of CKD through the stages an increase in plasma up-uc MGP with a
consequent decrease in plasma vitamin K concentration, and a slight increase in ABI was noticed.