Recent studies have indicated that lower serum levels of fetuin-A may accelerate the vascular mineralization process, which leads to pathophysiological conditions, such as coronary heart disease and chronic renal failure.
Other risk factors, including inflammation and diabetes, might lead to lower fetuin-A levels, and/or modify the effect of low fetuin-A on mortality in end-stage renal disease patients.
Inflamed (0.199 vs. 0.247 g/L; P < 0.01) and malnourished (0.207 vs. 0.262 g/L; P < 0.05) patients had significantly lower median fetuin-A than noninflamed and well-nourished ESRD patients, respectively.