Comparison of three troponins as predictors of future cardiovascular events--prospective results from the FINRISK and BiomaCaRE studies

PLoS One. 2014 Mar 4;9(3):e90063. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090063. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Importance and objective: Besides their role in diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (MI), troponins may be powerful biomarkers for risk stratification in the general population. The objective of our study was to compare the performance of three troponin assays in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction in a population-based cohort without a history of CVD events.

Design, setting and participants: Troponin I concentrations were measured using a contemporary-sensitivity, high-sensitivity, and super-sensitivity assay in 7,899 participants of the general-population based FINRISK 1997 cohort. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to determine relative risks, followed by measures of discrimination and reclassification using 10-fold cross-validation to control for over-optimism.

Main outcome: As outcome measures we used CVD, MI, ischemic stroke, heart failure (HF), and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). During the follow-up of 14 years 1,074 incident MACE were observed.

Results: Values above the lower limit of detection were observed in 26.4%, 81.5% and 93.9% for the contemporary-sensitivity, high-sensitivity and super-sensitivity assay, respectively. We observed significant associations of troponin concentrations with the risk of future CVD events and the results tended to become stronger with increasing assay sensitivity. For the super-sensitivity assay the multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (per one standard deviation increase) for different outcomes were: MI 1.24 [95% CI 1.11-1.39], stroke 1.14 [1.01-1.28], CVD 1.15 [1.07-1.24], HF 1.28 [1.18-1.39], and MACE 1.18 [1.11-1.25]. In subjects with intermediate risk, we found an improvement of net reclassification for HF (10.2%, p<0.001), and MACE (5.1%, p<0.001).

Conclusion: Using a super-sensitivity assay, cardiac troponin was detectable in almost all healthy individuals. Its concentration improved risk prediction and reclassification for cardiovascular endpoints.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Endpoint Determination
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Troponin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Troponin

Grants and funding

This work has been sustained by the MORGAM Project's current funding: European Community FP 7 projects ENGAGE CHANCES and BiomarCaRE. This has supported central coordination, workshops and part of the activities of the MORGAM Data Centre, at THL in Helsinki, Finland. MORGAM Participating Centers are funded by regional and national governments, research councils, charities, and other local sources. VS has been supported by the Academy of Finland (grant numbers 129 494 and 139 635) and the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research. SB has received research funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Abbott Diagnostics, SIEMENS, Thermo Fisher and Roche Diagnostics and received honoraria for lectures or consulting from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Roche, Astra Zeneca, SIEMENS, Thermo Fisher, and Abbott Diagnostics. VS has received a speaker honorarium from Roche Diagnostics. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.