sRAGE and Risk of Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease,

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their receptors are strongly implicated in the development of diabetes compli-cations. When stimulated by AGEs, the receptors for AGEs (RAGEs) induce inflammation and are thought to fuel disease progression. Soluble circulating RAGE (sRAGE) may counteract the detrimental effects of RAGE. We measured sRAGE in stored plasma from a random sample of 1,201 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study who were aged 47–68 years, had normal kidney function, and had no history of cardiovascular disease. In cross-sectional analyses, black race, male sex, higher BMI, and higher C-reactive protein were inde-pendently associated with low sRAGE. The racial difference was striking, with blacks approximately three times more likely to have low sRAGE compared with whites even after adjustment. During ~18 years of follow-up, there were 192 incident coronar