Background Low- and middle-income countries experience an increasing burden of chronic kidney disease. Cardiovascular risk factors, including advancing age, may contribute to this phenomenon. We (i) profiled cardiovascular risk factors and different biomarkers of subclinical kidney function and (ii) investigated the relationship between these variables. Methods We cross-sectionally analysed 956 apparently healthy adults between 20 and 30 years of age. Cardiovascular risk factors such as high adiposity, blood pressure, glucose levels, adverse lipid profiles and lifestyle factors were measured. Various biomarkers were used to assess subclinical kidney function, including estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urinary albumin, uromodulin and the CKD273 urinary proteomics classifier. These biomarkers were used to divide the total population into quartiles to compare extremes (25th percentiles) on the normal kidney function continuum. The lower 25th percentiles of eGFR and uromodulin and the upper 25th percentiles of urinary albumin and the CKD273 classifier represented the more unfavourable kidney function groups. Results In the lower 25th percentiles of eGFR and uromodulin and the upper 25th percentile of the CKD273 classifier, more adverse cardiovascular profiles were observed. In multi-variable adjusted regression analyses performed in the total group, eGFR associated negatively with HDL-C (β= -0.44; p < 0.001) and GGT (β= -0.24; p < 0.001), while the CKD273 classifier associated positively with age and these same risk factors (age: β = 0.10; p = 0.021, HDL-C: β = 0.23; p < 0.001, GGT: β = 0.14; p = 0.002). Conclusion Age, lifestyle and health measures impact kidney health even in the third decade.

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