Insulin resistance is associated with the development of albuminuria in Korean subjects without diabetes

Previous studies have shown that insulin resistance is associated with the development of albuminuria. However, most studies are done on a background of diabetes or metabolic syndrome and there is little data from general population. The aim of this study is to define the effect of insulin resistance on the development of albuminuria in healthy individuals without diabetes. We analyzed 60,047 participants without baseline diabetes or chronic kidney disease, who underwent at least two health maintenance visits at a 2-year interval between 2002 and 2009 at a tertiary hospital in Korea. We measured the incidence of albuminuria at the second examination and calculated the odds ratio for the development of albuminuria according to the quintile of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). After 2 years, 880 cases of incident albuminuria were observed. The cumulative incidences of albuminuria were 1.08, 1.50, 1.35, 1.47, and 1.92 % for the 1st to 5th quintiles of HOMA-IR. On multivariate logistic analysis, the odds ratios for incident albuminuria compared to those in the 1st quintile were 1.38 (95 % CI 1.10–1.73; P = 0.006), 1.23 (95 % CI 0.97–1.55; P = 0.087), 1.32 (95 % CI 1.04–1.67; P = 0.020), and 1.66 (95 % CI 1.31–2.09; P < 0.001) in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th quintiles, respectively. A high level of insulin resistance assessed with HOMA-IR was associated with the development of albuminuria in relatively healthy subjects without diabetes. Further research is needed to verify the role of insulin resistance in the development of albuminuria and renal injury.