Baolan Ji,1 Guanqi Gao,2 Hongyan Zhao,2,3 Jie Sheng,2,3 Xuan Ma,2,3 Shuwei Shi,1– 3 Bo Ban1,2 

1Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong, 272029, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Endocrinology, Linyi People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shandong Second Medical University, Linyi, Shandong, 276034, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Clinical Medicine, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, 261000, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Bo Ban, Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, 89 Guhuai Road, Jining, Shandong, 272029, People’s Republic of China, Email banbo2011@163.com Shuwei Shi, School of Clinical Medicine, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, 261000, People’s Republic of China, Email ssw15689286547@163.com

Aim: 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 (loge GDR) has been proposed as a new model for IS in patients with T2D. Our aim is to explore the correlation between loge GDR and NAFLD in normoalbuminuric patients with T2D.
Methods: 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 loge 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 loge GDR and NAFLD was analyzed.
Results: NAFLD patients showed lower loge GDR values than non-NAFLD (P < 0.001). As the loge GDR tertiles increased, the prevalence of NAFLD was decreased (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis displayed that loge GDR was independently corrected with NAFLD (OR: 0.084; 95% CI: 0.040– 0.177). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that loge GDR (area under the curves: 0.797) was superior to other evaluation variables.
Conclusion: The loge GDR was strongly associated with NAFLD and might be a useful predictor in normoalbuminuric patients with T2D.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes, NAFLD, insulin sensitivity, loge GDR