The Log GDR Was Strongly Associated with NAFLD as a Predictor in Normoalbuminuric Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

AIM

Attenuated insulin-sensitivity (IS) is a characteristic of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and is closely linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In recent years, many surrogate markers of IS have emerged to predict NAFLD. A natural log transformation of the glucose disposal rate (log GDR) has been proposed as a new model for IS in patients with T2D. Our aim is to explore the correlation between log GDR and NAFLD in normoalbuminuric patients with T2D.

METHODS

A total of 1227 normoalbuminuric patients with T2D were involved in our study. NAFLD was evaluated by ultrasound. Biochemical and clinical data were collected, including parameters essential for calculating the log GDR (triglycerides, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, γ-glutamyl transferase and body mass index), as well as other relevant covariates required for adjustment. The relationship between the log GDR and NAFLD was analyzed.

RESULTS

NAFLD patients showed lower log GDR values than non-NAFLD (P < 0.001). As the log GDR tertiles increased, the prevalence of NAFLD was decreased (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis displayed that log GDR was independently corrected with NAFLD (OR: 0.084; 95% CI: 0.040-0.177). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that log GDR (area under the curves: 0.797) was superior to other evaluation variables.

CONCLUSION

The log GDR was strongly associated with NAFLD and might be a useful predictor in normoalbuminuric patients with T2D.