High triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio associated with albuminuria in type 2 diabetic subjects

Objective Emerging evidence indicates that metabolic syndrome (MetS) predisposes diabetic subjects to nephropathy. Aside from hypertension and hyperglycemia, it is unclear which component of MetS also contributes to increased urinary albumin excretion (UAE). We compared the MetS profiles of subjects divided into two groups based on their UAE. Methods The Asia Pacific Real-Life Effectiveness and Care Patterns of Diabetes Management (AP RECAP-DM) study is a cross-sectional survey in which type 2 diabetic subjects using oral anti-hyperglycemic drugs were enrolled. We analyzed the data of 162 type 2 diabetic subjects with normotension or taking antihypertensive medications. Results There were 123 subjects with normal UAE (< 30 mg/g) and 39 with abnormal UAE (≥ 30 mg/g). MetS was more prevalent in the abnormal UAE group (79.5%) than in the normal UAE group (58.5%) (P = 0.018). Hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio = 8.65, P < 0.001) and reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (odds ratio = 3.27, P = 0.022) were both independently associated with abnormal UAE. Using 3.4 as a cut-off value, a high triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio was a useful marker (odds ratio = 15.05, P < 0.001) for abnormal UAE. Conclusions A high triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio was found to be an important risk factor for nephropathy in type 2 diabetic subjects.