Chen Jintao, Huang Yajing, Liu Chuanfeng, Chi Jingwei, Xu Lili, Wang Yangang
Department of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266003, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):20713. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-07001-w.
This study aims to evaluate the association between fasting serum free fatty acids (FFAs) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a population of Chinese men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A total of 781 eligible subjects participated in this cross-sectional study. We collected clinical data and information about the patient's examination and laboratory tests. The Shapiro-Wilk test was employed to assess the normality of continuous variables. For continuous variables with non-normal distributions, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test was utilized for comparisons. Categorical variable comparisons were performed using the chi-square test. Logistic regression analyses and restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves were conducted to examine the association between FFAs levels and DR. FFAs levels were slightly lower in the DR group compared to the NDR group (0.35 vs. 0.41 mmol/L, p < 0.05). The logistic regression model did not identify a statistically significant linear relationship between FFAs levels and DR incidence (OR = 0.776, 95% CI: 0.308-1.955, p = 0.591). After adjusting for various confounding factors, RCS curves revealed a U-shaped relationship between FFAs and DR. This relationship was validated in subgroup analyses stratified by age, diabetes duration, BMI, and alcohol consumption status. The U-shaped curve was evident in most subgroups, indicating that both low and high levels of FFAs are associated with an increased risk of DR. IIn this study, we found a U-shaped relationship between FFAs and DR in Chinese men with T2DM. Both low and high levels of FFAs were associated with an increased risk of DR.
本研究旨在评估中国男性2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者空腹血清游离脂肪酸（FFA）与糖尿病视网膜病变（DR）之间的关联。共有781名符合条件的受试者参与了这项横断面研究。我们收集了临床数据以及有关患者检查和实验室检测的信息。采用夏皮罗-威尔克检验评估连续变量的正态性。对于非正态分布的连续变量，使用曼-惠特尼U检验和克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验进行比较。分类变量比较采用卡方检验。进行逻辑回归分析和受限立方样条（RCS）曲线分析以检验FFA水平与DR之间的关联。与无糖尿病视网膜病变（NDR）组相比，DR组的FFA水平略低（0.35 vs. 0.41 mmol/L，p < 0.05）。逻辑回归模型未发现FFA水平与DR发病率之间存在统计学上显著的线性关系（OR = 0.776，95% CI：0.308 - 1.955，p = 0.591）。在调整各种混杂因素后，RCS曲线显示FFA与DR之间呈U形关系。这种关系在按年龄、糖尿病病程、体重指数（BMI）和饮酒状况分层的亚组分析中得到验证。U形曲线在大多数亚组中都很明显，表明FFA水平过低和过高均与DR风险增加相关。在本研究中，我们发现中国男性T2DM患者中FFA与DR之间呈U形关系。FFA水平过低和过高均与DR风险增加相关。
