Abstract
Aims: Low-grade albuminuria (LGA) has been shown to be associated with increased risk for
cardiovascular disease. Our study investigated the relationship between normal urinary
albumin-to-creatinine ratios (UACRs) and subclinical left ventricular (LV) diastolic
dysfunction and remodeling in diabetics and non-diabetics.
Methods: A total of 888 diabetic and 208 non-diabetic patients with normal UACRs (< 30 mg/g)
from Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China were examined. The subjects were stratified into
quartiles based on their respective UACR levels. LV diastolic function was defined
by early diastolic transmitral velocities (E)/average early diastolic annular velocities
(average e), accompanied by average e. LV remodeling was defined by LV mass indexed
to body surface area and relative wall thickness based on 2-dimensional and Doppler
echocardiography.
Results: UACR was independently associated with cardiac diastolic function as defined by E/e
and average e (OR=1.042, P=0.001) and LV remodeling (OR=1.037, P=0.001) in all participants.
Diabetic patients in the highest quartile of UACR demonstrated a greater risk of developing
LV diastolic dysfunction by a magnitude of 1.625 (OR=1.625, P=0.037) than patients
in the lowest quartile; those in the third and highest quartiles demonstrated a greater
risk of LV remodeling by a magnitude of 1.729–1.994 compared to the lowest quartile
(OR=1.729, P=0.027 and OR=1.994, P=0.005, respectively). The association between UACR
and subclinical diastolic dysfunction was most prevalent in younger, non-obese, non-hypertensive
females or patients who had experienced diabetes for fewer than 10 years. The association
between UACR and LV remodeling was most prevalent in non-obese, older males, in patients
with normal low-density lipoprotein levels, in patients who had experienced diabetes
for fewer than 10 years, and in patients without hypertension.
Conclusion: UACR was associated with subclinical LV diastolic dysfunction and remodeling in both
patients with and without Type 2 diabetes. We conclude that LGA may also be a marker
for subclinical cardiovascular damage in Type 2 diabetics.
Key words
type 2 diabetes mellitus - low-grade albuminuria - echocardiography - left ventricular
diastolic dysfunction - left ventricular remodeling