Association of Metabolic Syndrome and Other Factors with the Presence of Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a severe diabetes mellitus (DM) complication that contributes to medical and financial burdens. This study aimed to investigate risk factors for DN among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients by stratifying the participants based on the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Materials and methods: Between June 2017 and June 2022, Taiwan Hospital was chosen for this retrospective case-control study. Following the completion of a standardized interview and the donation of blood samples for this study, participants were divided into two groups according to whether they had MetS. We contrasted how the potential DN-related factors impacted these two groups. Results: A total of 1212 patients were included, and 639 patients (52.7%) had MetS. Multivariable analysis showed that the level of educational qualifications, fasting glucose, and uric acid (UA) were associated with DN. However, chewing betel nut behavior, higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), and higher glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were found to be risk factors of DN among the patients who had both T2DM and MetS. Notably, betel nut chewing increased the chance of DN in T2DM patients with MetS. Conclusions: This study found that the level of education, chewing betel nut behavior, HbA1c, fasting glucose, SBP, and UA were significant risk factors for the development of DN in diabetic individuals with concurrent MetS. Our research reveals that managing the aforementioned risk factors is crucial to lowering the prevalence of DN, particularly in individuals with lower levels of education.

Diabetes-Related Microvascular Complications in Primary Health Care Settings in the West Bank, Palestine

“…The findings of the present study have revealed a noteworthy and significant negative correlation between educational attainment and the prevalence of DR. Likewise, it was shown that educational attainment emerged as a significant predictor of nephropathy, implying that individuals with higher levels of education may have reduced susceptibility to nephropathy [71,72]. The observed phenomenon can be attributed to a heightened level of consciousness and comprehension of the imperative nature of diabetes management, as well as adherence to treatment protocols and lifestyle recommendations, as evidenced in the existing body of scholarly literature [73].…”