Fig. 4.

Stratified analyses for the association between protein-adjusted serum free thiols and the risk of incident CKD across various subgroups. Hazard ratios (HRs) are shown with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). HRs show consistently inverse associations between protein-adjusted serum free thiols and the risk of incident CKD in all subgroups. HRs were adjusted for potential confounding factors (based on the DAG), including current smoking, systolic blood pressure, chronic heart failure, diabetes, total cholesterol, use of lipid-lowering drugs, and hs-CRP. Abbreviations: BMI, body-mass index; CHF, chronic heart failure; CKD, chronic kidney disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; R-SH, protein-adjusted serum free thiols; UAE, urinary albumin excretion; HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval.