AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Dyslipidemia plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Evidence has increasingly shown that the ratio of low- to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C/HDL-C) is a novel marker for increased risk of insulin resistance and cardiovascular diseases. However, the correlation between the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and diabetes risk is rarely reported. This is the first study to investigate the association between the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and new-onset diabetes in a large community-based cohort.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, a total of 116,661 adults without baseline diabetes were enrolled. Participants were stratified into four groups based on LDL-C/HDL-C ratio quartiles. The outcome of interest was new-onset diabetes.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up period of 2.98 years, 2,681 (2.3%) new diabetes cases were recorded. The total cumulative incidence of diabetes progressively increased alongside LDL-C/HDL-C ratio quartiles (0.31, 0.43, 0.68 and 0.88%, respectively, P-value for trend <0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, using the lowest quartile of the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio as the reference, the risk of diabetes increased with LDL-C/HDL-C ratio quartiles (P-value for trend <0.001); in particular, from the second to fourth quartile, hazard ratios were 1.18 (95% confidence interval 0.87-1.59), 1.42 (95% confidence interval 1.07-1.90) and 1.92 (95% confidence interval 1.43-2.59), respectively. The results were also robust to challenges in multiple sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Among the Chinese population, elevated LDL-C/HDL-C ratio might be an independent risk factor for new-onset diabetes.