Whether genetic factors account for differences in early kidney disease among blacks in a young healthy population is not well known. We evaluated the association of self-reported race and genetic African ancestry with elevated creatinine (> or =1.3 mg/dl for men, > or =1.1 mg/dl for women) among 3,113 black and white participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, ages 38-50 years. We estimated individual African ancestry using 42 ancestry informative markers. Blacks were more likely to have elevated creatinine than whites, and this effect was more pronounced in men: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for black versus white men = 7.03, 4.15-11.91; AOR for women = 2.40, 1.15-5.02. Higher African ancestry was independently associated with elevated creatinine among black men (AOR = 1.53,1.08-2.16 per SD increase in African ancestry), but not women. A graded increase in odds of elevated creatinine by African Ancestry was observed among black men compared with white men: AOR = 4.27 (2.26-10.06) for black men with 40-70% African ancestry; AOR = 8.09 (4.19-15.61) for black men with 70-80% African ancestry; AOR = 9.05 (4.81-17.02) for black men with >80% African ancestry. Genetic factors common to African ancestry may be associated with increased risk of early kidney dysfunction in a young, healthy population, particularly among black men.

2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.