Abstract: bjective  To investigate the relationship between serum periostin (POSTN) and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).  Methods   A total of 95 patients treated with MHD for more than 3 months in the Blood Purification Center of Qingdao Municipal Hospital from October 2022 to October 2023 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data and laboratory results were collected. ELISA was used to detect the serum POSTN level. Lateral abdominal X-ray film was conducted to evaluate AAC and to calculate AAC score. Pearson correlation analysis and univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models were applied to investigate the risk factors for AAC in MHD patients.  Results   ①Serum POSTN was higher in the MHD patient group than in the healthy control group (Z=-8.744, P＜0.001).  ②Correlation analysis found that serum POSTN level was positively correlated with AAC score (r=0.755, P＜0.001), dialysis age (r=0.622, P＜0.001), parathyroid hormone (r=0.202 P=0.049), β2-microglobulin (r=0.212, P=0.039), and low-density lipoprotein (r=0.233, P=0.023), and was negatively correlated with glomerular filtration rate (r=-0.695, P＜0.001).  ③Results of univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses showed that after adjusting for confounders including dialysis age and parathyroid hormone, serum POSTN was an independent risk factor for occurrence of AAC in MHD patients (OR=1.597, 95% CI: 1.005～2.536, P=0.047).  Conclusion  Serum POSTN level was higher in MHD patients than in healthy population. Higher serum POSTN was associated with AAC in MHD patients.

Key words: Maintenance hemodialysis, Protein, Vascular calcification, Abdominal aorta