Decreased GFR and its joint association with type 2 diabetes and hypertension with prevalence and severity of carotid plaque in a community population in China

Albuminuria but not low eGFR is closely associated with atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes: an observational study

BACKGROUND

There is still controversy regarding the associations of urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, it is necessary to explore the correlation between them in T2DM patients.

METHODS

We conducted a survey involving 2565 T2DM patients from a single center. The study cohort was classified into three groups based on the levels of albuminuria: normal UAE (UAE < 30 mg/24 h), moderate UAE (UAE between 30 and 299 mg/24 h) and high UAE (UAE ≥ 300 mg/24 h). Additionally, the patients were divided into three separate groups according to eGFR levels, including low eGFR (eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m²), intermediate eGFR (eGFR 60-89 ml/min/1.73 m²) and normal eGFR (eGFR ≥ 90 ml/min/1.73 m²) groups. Atherosclerotic lesions were compared among the three UAE and eGFR groups. Regression analyses were used to assess the associations of atherosclerotic lesions with UAE and eGFR in T2DM.

RESULTS

After controlling for age, sex and diabetes duration, the prevalence of atherosclerotic plaque and stenosis were significantly increased from the normal to high UAE groups (plaque: 72.2%, 78.6% and 87.3%, respectively, p = 0.016 for trend; stenosis: 14.0%, 25.5% and 37.3%, respectively, p < 0.001 for trend). Likewise, the values of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and femoral intima-media thickness (FIMT) were also obviously increased from the normal to high UAE groups (CIMT: p < 0.001 for trend; FIMT: p = 0.001 for trend). Conversely, only the FIMT value was clearly increased from the low to normal eGFR groups (p = 0.001 for trend). Fully adjusted regression analyses revealed that UAE was closely associated with the presence of atherosclerotic plaque (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.03-1.40, p = 0.020) and stenosis (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.01-1.35, p = 0.036), and with the values of CIMT (β 0.05, 95% CI 0.01-0.10, p = 0.029) and FIMT (β 0.07, 95% CI 0.03-0.11, p = 0.001) in T2DM patients. However, there was no significant association between eGFR levels and atherosclerotic lesions in T2DM after adjustment for multiple confounding factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, albuminuria rather than low eGFR is closely associated with atherosclerotic lesions in T2DM patients. Albuminuria is an independent risk factor for carotid and femoral atherosclerotic lesions in T2DM. Therefore, albuminuria may be a potential early marker to predict the development of atherosclerosis in patients with T2DM.

Construction of a Personalized Insulin Resistance Risk Assessment Tool in Xinjiang Kazakhs Based on Lipid- and Obesity-Related Indices

Purpose

This study aimed to explore the relationship between obesity- and lipid-related indices and insulin resistance (IR) and construct a personalized IR risk model for Xinjiang Kazakhs based on representative indices.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was performed from 2010 to 2012. A total of 2170 Kazakhs from Xinyuan County were selected as research subjects. IR was estimated using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. Multivariable logistic regression analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator penalized regression analysis, and restricted cubic spline were applied to evaluate the association between lipid- and obesity-related indices and IR. The risk model was developed based on selected representative variables and presented using a nomogram. The model performance was assessed using the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test, and decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results

After screening out 25 of the variables, the final risk model included four independent risk factors: smoking, sex, triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, and body mass index (BMI). A linear dose–response relationship was observed for the BMI and TyG indices against IR risk. The AUC of the risk model was 0.720 based on an independent test and 0.716 based on a 10-fold cross-validation. Calibration curves showed good consistency between actual and predicted IR risks. The DCA demonstrated that the risk model was clinically effective.

Conclusion

The TyG index and BMI had the strongest association with IR among all obesity- and lipid-related indices, and the developed model was useful for predicting IR risk among Kazakh individuals.

Association of depressive symptoms with the progression of carotid intima-media thickness in a community-based cohort in Beijing, China

OBJECTIVES

To determine the relationship between depressive symptoms and progression of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in a Beijing community-based population.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study between 2014 and 2018.

SETTING

Dwellers without cardiovascular disease, hypertension or diabetes from a Beijing community.

PARTICIPANTS

3849 Chinese community-dwelling individuals who underwent baseline screening for depressive symptoms were invited to participate in the study in 2014 and follow-up visit in 2018. Among them, 2124 participants completed carotid ultrasound examination both at baseline and a follow-up visit. After further excluding patients with a history of stroke, myocardial infarction or lower extremity arterial stenosis and those with a diagnosis of hypertension or diabetes and ankle-brachial index ≤0.9 at baseline, 1011 eligible participants were finally included.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE

The rate of mean cIMT change.

RESULTS

Over a median follow-up period of 4.40 years, the overall rate of mean cIMT change was 2.23% (-5.64% to 9.51%). After adjustment for 13 covariates, there was an increase of 2.36% (β=2.36, 95% CI: 0.37 to 4.36, p=0.020) for the rates of mean cIMT change in the depressive group compared with the control group. Furthermore, this association was modified by drinking status (β=3.22, 95% CI: 1.25 to 5.19, P-interaction=0.006).

CONCLUSION

Depressive symptoms were independently associated with progression of mean cIMT in a community-based cohort in Beijing, China. Furthermore, this relationship was modified by drinking status.

Diabetes and carotid artery disease: a narrative review

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been linked to an increased prevalence and severity of carotid artery disease, as well as polyvascular disease. Carotid disease is also associated with obesity and abnormal peri-organ and intra-organ fat (APIFat) deposition (i.e., excess fat accumulation in several organs such as the liver, heart and vessels). In turn, DM is associated with APIFat. The coexistence of these comorbidities confers a greater risk of vascular events. Clinicians should also consider that carotid bruits may predict cardiovascular risk. DM has been related to a greater risk of adverse outcomes after carotid endarterectomy or stenting. Whether modifying risk factors (e.g., glycaemia and dyslipidaemia) in DM patients can improve the outcomes of these procedures needs to be established. Furthermore, DM is a risk factor for contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). The latter should be recorded in DM patients undergoing carotid stenting since it can influence both short- and long-term outcomes. From a pathophysiological perspective, functional changes in the carotid artery may precede morphological ones. Furthermore, carotid plaque characteristics are increasingly being studied in terms of vascular risk stratification and monitoring short-term changes attributed to treatment. The present narrative review discusses the recent (2019) literature on the associations between DM and carotid artery disease. Physicians and vascular surgeons looking after patients with carotid disease and DM should consider these links that may influence outcomes. Further research in this field is also needed to optimise the treatment of such patients.