Triglycerides are independently associated with albuminuria in Taiwanese Type 2 diabetic patients

Background: Lipid abnormalities in albuminuria in patients with Type 2 diabetes differ by race. Aim: To perform a biochemical investigation of association between dyslipidemia and albuminuria in Type 2 diabetes in Taiwan. Materials/subjects and methods: We recruited a total of 2349 Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes from two medical centers in Taiwan over a 1-yr period. Patients were categorized into those with normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, and macro-albuminuria defined as albumin-to-creatinine ratio of <30, 30–299, and ≥300 µg/mg. We then investigated the significance of the clinical and biochemical parameters and risk of albuminuria. Results: We found significant differences in total cholesterol (TC) between those with normoalbuminuria and micro/macroalbuminuria, no significant difference in LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) among the 3 subgroups, a significant difference in HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) between those with normoalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria, and significant increases in triglyceride (TG) paralleling increases in albuminuria. TG was found by logistic regression to be significantly associated with micro/macroalbuminuria in our unadjusted model [odds ratio (OR) = 1.859 (1.596∼2.165)], and remained significant after adjusting for various confounders [OR = 1.415 (1.123∼1.784)]. Increases in albuminuria paralleled quartile increases in serum TG (p<0.001). Conclusions: We conclude that TG increases significantly throughout the 3 stages of albuminuria in Taiwanese Type 2 diabetic patients, but TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C do not.