Galectin-3 is independently associated with cardiovascular mortality in community-dwelling older adults without known cardiovascular disease: The Rancho Bernardo Study

Background Galectin-3 is a marker of myocardial fibrosis that has been implicated in the pathophysiologic pathway of fibrosis; its association with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in a community-based cohort free of baseline CVD has not been reported. Our aim was to determine the association between galectin-3 levels and all-cause and CVD mortality in community-dwelling older adults without known CVD. Methods We measured plasma galectin-3 levels in 1,393 Rancho Bernardo Study participants without CVD with a mean age of 70 years. Participants were followed up for a mean of 11 years for coronary heart disease, CVD mortality, and all-cause mortality. Results During follow-up, 436 participants died (169 from CVD). In models adjusted for traditional CVD risk factors and renal function, galectin-3 was a significant predictor of CVD mortality (hazard ratio [HR] per SD log increase 1.30, 95% CI 1.10-1.53) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.12, 1.01-1.24), but not coronary heart disease (HR 1.09, 0.92-1.30). After further adjusting for N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide, galectin-3 remained an independent predictor (HR 1.24, 1.05-1.47) of CVD mortality. Galectin-3 improved the c statistic (0.847-0.851, P =.003) for prediction of CVD death. Net reclassification improvement (> 0) with the addition of galectin-3 was 35% (P < .0001); the integrated discrimination index was also significant (P = .03). Participants with both galectin-3 and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide above the median had increased risk of CVD death vs those with higher levels of only 1 of these markers (HR 1.74, 1.24-2.43). Conclusion Higher levels of galectin-3 are independently associated with all-cause and CVD mortality among community-dwelling older adults with no known CVD at baseline.