The nonlinear association between apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A1 ratio and type 2 diabetes

The ratio of ApoB/apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) has been found to be associated with type 2 diabetes, and it was proposed as a new biomarker for type 2 diabetes predictions. Previous studies have assumed that the association between apoB/apoA1 and type 2 diabetes was linear. However, the linearity assumption has rarely been examined. In the present study, we aimed to examine whether this association showed a linear trend in a nationally representative population. Participants aged 18 years and over (n=8220) were selected from the China Health Nutrition Survey (CHNS). We used restricted cubic spline to model the association between ApoB/ApoA1 ratio and type 2 diabetes using logistic regression models. Additionally, we categorized the ApoB/ApoA1 ratio according to quartiles to compare with previous results. Age, gender, education, smoking status, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), lipid, body mass index (BMI), and hypertension were controlled as potential confounders. We found that the association between apoB/apoA1 ratio and type 2 diabetes may be nonlinear after adjusting for multiple potential confounders. Compared with the lowest quartile of apoB/apoA1 ratio, participants in the fourth quartile had a higher odds of type 2 diabetes [odds ratio (OR)=1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.81]. Our results suggest that, higher apoB/apoA1 ratio was associated with higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes. However, the association may be nonlinear.