Association between serum Klotho concentration and heart failure in adults, a cross-sectional study from NHANES 2007–2016

Limited data exist on the association between serum Klotho concentration and heart failure (HF).We conducted a cross-sectional study of 13,625 participants aged 40-79 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2016. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between serum Klotho concentration (ln transformation) and HF. A total of 533 (2.9%) participants were identified to have HF, and participants with the lowest tertiles of serum Klotho concentration had the highest percentage of HF (T1: 3.8% vs. T2: 2.8% and T3: 2.1%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, ln (Klotho) was negatively and independently associated with the risk of HF (OR= 0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.84). Meanwhile, compared with the T1 group, a higher serum Klotho concentration was associated with a lower risk of HF (tertile 2: OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.69-1.29, tertile 3: OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.52-1.09, P for trend 0.022). Finally, subgroup analyses indicated that lower Klotho concentrations significantly correlated with an increased risk of HF in half of the subgroups.Serum Klotho concentration was consistently and negatively associated with the presence of HF among US middle-aged and older adults.