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OBJECTIVELow levels of fetuin-A, a systemic calcification inhibitor, are linked to mortality in patients on dialysis. In contrast, elevated fetuin-A is associated with cardiovascular events in non-renal patients. We investigated fetuin-A in patients with type 2 diabetes and peripheral arterial disease (PAD).RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSWe studied fetuin-A in 76 patients with PAD and normal glucose metabolism (NGM-PAD) and in 129 patients with PAD and type 2 diabetes (type 2 diabetes–PAD). Additionally, 40 patients with diabetes without any complications (type 2 diabetes–non-PAD) were examined.RESULTSType 2 diabetes–PAD subjects (399 ± 155 μg/ml) had significantly higher fetuin-A levels than type 2 diabetes–non-PAD subjects (247 ± 42; P < 0.001). In NGM-PAD subjects (376 ± 144), fetuin-A was significantly higher than in type 2 diabetes–non-PAD subjects (P < 0.001). Type 2 diabetes–PAD patients with mediasclerosis had lower fetuin-A than subjects without (P < 0.03). Regression analysis in type 2 diabetes–PAD subjects revealed that glycated A1C (P < 0.001) and mediasclerosis (P = 0.004) were the strongest predictors of fetuin-A. Multivariate regression revealed that a 1-SD increase in fetuin-A was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.1 (95% CI 1.1–3.3; P < 0.001) for the prevalence of PAD and an OR of 1.4 (1.0–1.7, P = 0.039) for the prevalence of myocardial infarction.CONCLUSIONSIn contrast to previous findings, fetuin-A was higher in type 2 diabetes–PAD patients than in type 2 diabetes–non-PAD patients. In NGM-PAD patients, fetuin-A was also higher than in type 2 diabetes–non-PAD patients. In type 2 diabetes–PAD patients, fetuin-A was inversely associated with mediasclerosis—the calcification process pathognomonic for diabetic PAD. This association persisted in multivariate regression, which is in line with the calcification inhibition in coronary heart or renal disease.

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