Diabetic retinopathy is associated with visceral fat accumulation in Japanese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Anan, Futoshi; Masaki, Takayuki; Ito, Yuji; Eto, Takahiko; Umeno, Yoshikazu; Eshima, Nobuoki; Saikawa, Tetsunori; Yoshimatsu, Hironobu

doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2009.06.001

« Previous Next »Metabolism - Clinical and Experimental
Volume 59, Issue 3 , Pages 314-319, March 2010

Diabetic retinopathy is associated with visceral fat accumulation in Japanese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Futoshi Anan
- Department of Cardiology, Oita Red Cross Hospital, Oita 870-0033, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 97 532 6181; fax: +81 97 533 1207.
Takayuki Masaki
- Department of Internal Medicine 1, Oita University, Oita, Japan
Yuji Ito
- Department of Ophthalmology, Oita Red Cross Hospital, Oita 870-0033, Japan
Takahiko Eto
- Department of Ophthalmology, Oita Red Cross Hospital, Oita 870-0033, Japan
Yoshikazu Umeno
- Department of Endocrinology, Oita Red Cross Hospital, Oita 870-0033, Japan
Nobuoki Eshima
- Department of Biostatistics, Oita University, Oita, Japan
Tetsunori Saikawa
- Department of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Oita, Japan
Hironobu Yoshimatsu
- Department of Internal Medicine 1, Oita University, Oita, Japan

Received 26 March 2009; accepted 16 June 2009. published online 10 December 2009.

Abstract

The presence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and increased of visceral fat accumulation (VFA) are associated with high mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. This preliminary study was therefore designed to test the hypothesis that DR is associated with insulin resistance and VFA in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without insulin treatment. A total of 102 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients were divided into 2 groups: DR group (age, 60 ± 6 years [mean ± SD]; n = 31) and no diabetic retinopathy (NDR) group (59 ± 5 years, n = 71). The level of blood glucose was assessed by fasting plasma glucose, fasting immunoreactive insulin, homeostasis model assessment index, and hemoglobin A_1c. The fat distribution was evaluated by measuring the VFA by abdominal computed tomography at the umbilical level. The body mass index and waist circumference were higher in the DR group than in the NDR group (P < .001 and P < .0005, respectively). Plasma levels of triglyceride were higher, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower, in the DR group than in the NDR group (P < .005 and P < .0001, respectively). Fasting plasma glucose (P < .0005), insulin concentrations (P < .0001), homeostasis model assessment index (P < .0001), and VFA (P < .0001) levels were higher in the DR group than in the NDR group. Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that DR was independently predicted by high VFA and insulin resistance. The results of this preliminary study indicate that the presence of DR was associated with high VFA and insulin resistance in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.