The Log_e GDR Was Strongly Associated with NAFLD as a Predictor in Normoalbuminuric Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Attenuated insulin-sensitivity (IS) is a characteristic of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and is closely linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In recent years, many surrogate markers of IS have emerged to predict NAFLD. A natural log transformation of the glucose disposal rate (log_e GDR) has been proposed as a new model for IS in patients with T2D. Our aim is to explore the correlation between log_e GDR and NAFLD in normoalbuminuric patients with T2D.

A total of 1227 normoalbuminuric patients with T2D were involved in our study. NAFLD was evaluated by ultrasound. Biochemical and clinical data were collected, including parameters essential for calculating the log_e GDR (triglycerides, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, γ-glutamyl transferase and body mass index), as well as other relevant covariates required for adjustment. The relationship between the log_e GDR and NAFLD was analyzed.

NAFLD patients showed lower log_e GDR values than non-NAFLD (P < 0.001). As the log_e GDR tertiles increased, the prevalence of NAFLD was decreased (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis displayed that log_e GDR was independently corrected with NAFLD (OR: 0.084; 95% CI: 0.040-0.177). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that log_e GDR (area under the curves: 0.797) was superior to other evaluation variables.

The log_e GDR was strongly associated with NAFLD and might be a useful predictor in normoalbuminuric patients with T2D.