Blood protein score linked to calcium buildup in heart arteries
A standard-deviation rise in the score was linked to a 0.60-unit increase in artery calcium scores on a base-10 logarithmic scale.
Our read
Biomarkers- Studied:
- Cohort study of 6,468 CARDIA, MESA, and FHS participants
- What changed:
- Higher blood protein scores were linked to more calcium buildup in heart arteries
- The catch:
- Selecting proteins and evaluating their calcium association in the same dataset risks overstating the association
- Why it’s aging research:
- It bears on staying healthy in midlife and later life.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Among 6,468 participants from three cohorts, an observational study examined associations between 2,805 blood proteins and calcium deposits in the heart’s arteries. Researchers accounted for age, sex, smoking and other clinical factors. They selected 25 proteins for a combined score associated with more artery calcium. A standard deviation measures how widely scores vary; a logarithmic scale compresses large differences.
A second analysis included 35,565 participants, primarily from UK Biobank. Higher protein scores were also linked to heart attacks in this group. The heart attack hazard ratio, which compares event rates over time, was 1.21 per standard-deviation increase in the score.
Why it matters
Coronary artery disease is an age-related health concern. The authors proposed that the protein score could help identify people at different levels of cardiovascular risk.
Caveats
Other health differences could have influenced both protein levels and artery calcium despite the statistical adjustments. The conference abstract did not report how long participants were followed for heart attacks.
- Machine learning
- Apoptosis
- Extracellular matrix remodeling
- Coronary artery calcification
- Myocardial infarction
- Humans
The paper
A Multi-Cohort, Polyprotein Risk Score for Risk Stratification in Coronary Artery Calcification
Massachussetts General Hosp; Massachusetts General Hosp
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 15750
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