Individual and joint effects of trehalose and glutamate on diabetic retinopathy: a propensity score-matched...

Although previous studies demonstrate that trehalose can help maintain glucose homeostasis in healthy humans, its role and joint effect with glutamate on diabetic retinopathy (DR) remain unclear. We aimed to comprehensively quantify the associations of trehalose and glutamate with DR. This study included 69 pairs of DR and matched type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients. Serum trehalose and glutamate were determined via ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry system. Covariates were collected by a standardized questionnaire, clinical examinations and laboratory assessments. Individual and joint association of trehalose and glutamate with DR were quantified by multiple conditional logistic regression models. The adjusted odds of DR averagely decreased by 86% (odds ratio (OR): 0.14; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.33) with per interquartile range increase of trehalose. Comparing with the lowest quartile, adjusted OR (95% CI) were 0.20 (0.05, 0.83), 0.14 (0.03, 0.63) and 0.01 (<0.01, 0.05) for participants in the second, third and fourth quartiles of trehalose, respectively. In addition, as compared to their counterparts, T2D patients with lower trehalose (