STUDY ON CORRELATION BETWEEN SERUM URIC ACID, INSULIN RESISTANCE AND PANCREATIC ISLET B CELL FUNCTION OF ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES

Introduction: This study is designed to discuss the serum uric acid level, insulin resistance and pancreatic islet beta cell functional status of elderly patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and analyse the correlation between serum uric acid, insulin resistance and pancreatic islet beta cell function. Materials and methods: Elderly patients (N = 279) with T2DM admitted to the Endocrinology Department of our hospital from September 2015 to August 2017 were randomly selected. They were divided into two ,groups, the high uric acid group (n = 143) and the normal uric acid group (n = 136), according to their blood uric acid level to compare the glycosylated haemoglobin (HbAlc), serum creatinine (Scr), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), beta cell function index (HOMA-beta) and other indices of the two ,groups. Pearson correlation analysis was adopted to summarise the correlation between serum uric acid level, HOMA-IR and HOMA-beta of the patients. Results: HbAlc levels and HDL levels of the high uric acid ,group were lower than those of the normal uric acid group, while other detection indices, including Scr, TC, TG, LDL and BMI were higher than those of the normal uric acid group (p < 0.05). For the elderly patients with T2DM, serum uric acid levels and HOMA-IR were in positive correlation (p < 0.05), but serum uric acid levels had no obvious correlation with HOMA-beta (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Uric acid level is not only one of the independent risk factors for insulin resistance but also the predictive ,factor for T2DM. Therefore, controlling uric acid levels may become an important strategy for improving insulin resistance of elderly patients with T2DM.