Predictive value of osteoprotegerin for detecting coronary artery calcification in symptomatic patients: correlation with extent of calcification detected by multidetector computed tomography

Introduction: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) could be a marker of vascular calcification extent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships between OPG and coronary artery calcification (CAC) extent in an Iranian population. Methods: A total of 151 patients with chest pain [107 males/44 females, mean age: 57.23 (30-85)] were enrolled, excluding patients with previously established coronary artery diseases. All underwent chest multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for CAC scoring. Blood samples were collected for measurement of OPG. A potential relationship between CAC, OPG, age and number of involved coronary arteries was investigated, and a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was designed thereafter to identify a cut-off value of OPG that best predicted the presence of CAC. Results: A total of 93 patients did not have CAC, who were younger than others. The mean age of patients with a different number of involved arteries was significantly different and is significantly correlated with a number of involved coronary arteries. The mean level of OPG differed by the number of calcified coronary arteries and is significantly correlated with the number of involved coronary arteries. The level of OPG had a weak but positive correlation with Ca score. ROC curve analysis showed that plasma OPG level had a fair prediction of CAC score, with an area under ROC curve of 0.62. The cut-off value best predicting CAC score was 59.1 pg/ml. Conclusion: This study suggests that a serum level of OPG can fairly predict extent of coronary retry calcification in symptomatic population.