Association Between Serum Lipid Levels and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Dyslipidemia is a common metabolic abnormality in Type 2 diabetic Mellitus (T2DM) patients with kidney dysfunction. Therefore, the current study was conducted to assess the association between serum lipid levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in T2DM patients.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 802 participants, aged 40 years or more who had referred to the Abu Reyhan Clinic of Shahid Mohammadi Hospital in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province, Iran. Biochemical variables including FBS, triglycerides, total cholestrol, LDL-C, and HDL-C levels were measured using the enzymatic method. The association between serum lipid profile and eGFR was assessed using the Spearman correlation coefficient test and linear regression model.

Mean ± SD age of the subjects (72.3% females) was 53.55 ± 5.56 years old. Mean ± SD of eGFR-EPI and eGFR-MDRD was 86.30 ± 17.48 and 86.80 ± 23.29, respectively for all the subjects. In the current study, a negative association was observed between eGFR-EPI and FBS (r = -0.123, β = -0.172) and TGs (r = -0.080, β = -0.096) (P < .01). Also, there was an inverse association between the eGFR-MDRD and FBS (r = -0.123, β = -0.172) and TGs levels (r = -0.074, β = -0.086) (P < .05). However, the concentration of other lipid profiles was not associated with the eGFR level (estimated by EPI and MDRD methods).

Our findings suggested that the patients with reduced eGFR level are more likely to have greater TG serum level. Therefore, high TG levels can be considered as a potential biomarker for predicting renal complications in the patients with T2DM.