[2022 Jan;46(1)] Serum Retinol-Binding Protein Levels Are Associated with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Real-World Study
Serum Retinol-Binding Protein Levels Are Associated with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Real-World Study
1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus, Shanghai, China
2Department of Information, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
3Department of Medical Information, School of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
4Department of Endocrinology, Eastern Theater Air Force Hospital of PLA, Nanjing, China
Corresponding author: Lian-Xi Li https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6073-4901 Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, 200233 Shanghai, China E-mail: lilx@sjtu.edu.cn
* Zhi-Hui Zhang and Jiang-Feng Ke contributed equally to this study as first authors.
Received September 1, 2020 Accepted November 20, 2021
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background
The association of serum retinol-binding protein (RBP) levels with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains controversial. Furthermore, few studies have investigated their relationship in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the association between serum RBP levels and NAFLD in Chinese inpatients with T2DM.
Methods
This cross-sectional, real-world study included 2,263 Chinese T2DM inpatients. NAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography. The subjects were divided into four groups based on RBP quartiles, and clinical characteristics were compared among the four groups. The associations of both RBP levels and quartiles with the presence of NAFLD were also analyzed.
Results
After adjustment for sex, age, and diabetes duration, there was a significant increase in the prevalence of NAFLD from the lowest to the highest RBP quartiles (30.4%, 40.0%, 42.4%, and 44.7% for the first, second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively, P<0.001 for trend). Fully adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that both increased RBP levels (odds ratio, 1.155; 95% confidence interval, 1.012 to 1.318; P=0.033) and quartiles (P=0.014 for trend) were independently associated with the presence of NAFLD in T2DM patients.
Conclusion
Increased serum RBP levels were independently associated with the presence of NAFLD in Chinese T2DM inpatients. Serum RBP levels may be used as one of the indicators to assess the risk of NAFLD in T2DM patients.