The aim of our study was to evaluate the importance of insulin-like growth-factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP-7) as a potential marker of symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) occurrence. The study group consisted of 145 patients with diagnosed PAD, who qualified for the invasive treatment. The control group consisted of 67 individuals representing the local population and an ischemic heart disease (IHD) group of 88 patients after myocardial infarction or percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients with PAD had significantly higher IGFBP-7 concentrations than control group (1.80 ± 1.62 vs. 1.41 ± 0.45 ng/mL, p = 0.04). No significant differences between PAD patients and IHD patients were found (1.80 ± 1.62 vs. 1.76 ± 1.04 ng/mL, p = 0.783). Patients with multilevel PAD presented significantly higher IGFBP-7 concentrations than patients with aortoiliac PAD-median 1.18 (IQR 0.48-2.23) vs. 1.42 ng/mL (0.71-2.63), p = 0.035. In the group of patients who died or had a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) during six months of follow-up, a statistically significant higher IGFBP-7 concentration was found (median 2.66 (IQR 1.80-4.93) vs. 1.36 ng/mL (IQR 0.65-2.34), p = 0.004). It seems that IGFBP-7 is elevated in patients with atherosclerotic lesions-regardless of their locations. Further research should be conducted to verify IGFBP-7 usefulness as a predictor of MACE or death.
Keywords: IGFBP-7; atherosclerosis; peripheral artery disease.