Abstract P122: Plasma Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4 is Associated with the Incidence of Sudden Cardiac Death in Non-Diabetic Adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study

Abstract

Background: Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) is an adipokine that plays a role in lipid transport. Previous studies have reported that FABP4 may increase the risk of diabetes and exert negative inotropy on the myocardium. It is unknown whether plasma FABP4 is associated with the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Objective: To test the hypothesis that plasma FABP4 is associated with a higher incidence of SCD in older adults and determine if diabetes status modifies this association. Methods: We prospectively analyzed data on 4,564 men and women aged 65+ years from the Cardiovascular Health Study. FABP4 was measured at baseline using ELISA and SCD events were adjudicated through review of medical records (inter-reviewer agreement of 88% and kappa of 0.74). We used Cox proportional hazards model to examine the association between FABP4 and SCD. Results: During a median follow up of 11.8 years, 146 new cases of SCD occurred. In a multivariable model adjusting for age, sex, race, clinic, education, glomerular filtration rate based on cystatin C, high-sensitive C-reactive protein, leisure time physical activity, hormone replacement therapy, alcohol intake, self-reported general health status, smoking, prevalent coronary heart disease, and prevalent heart failure, each higher standard deviation (SD) of plasma FABP4 was associated with a non-significant 14% (95% CI: -5% to 37%) higher risk of SCD. When stratified by prevalent diabetes status, FABP4 was associated with a higher risk of SCD in non-diabetic participants, [HR per SD of FABP4: 1.37 (95% CI: 1.11-1.67)] but not in diabetic participants [HR per SD of FABP4: 0.77 (95% CI: 0.52-1.15)], p for diabetes-FABP4 interaction was 0.026. Conclusion: A single measure of plasma FABP4 obtained later in life was associated with a higher risk of SCD among older adults without diabetes but not among those with diabetes. If confirmed in other studies, these data may point to novel mechanisms and opportunities for SCD prevention.