title: High-normal urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio is independently associated with metabolic syndrome in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional community-based study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Microalbuminuria is positively related to metabolic syndrome (MetS). Our aim was to investigate whether urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) within the normal range is independently associated with MetS in Chinese community-based patients with type 2 diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 514 participants (206 males and 308 females; mean age 66 years) with UACR less than 3.5 mg/mmol were enrolled from two downtown areas of Shanghai. The participants were stratified into quartiles according to UACR levels. The prevalence of MetS was assessed and compared among the four groups by binary logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with participants with UACRs in the first quartile, the other quartiles had a higher prevalence of MetS (65.9%, 74.4% and 81.3%, respectively, P = 0.001) after adjustment for sex and age. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants in the second to the fourth quartile group had a 1.36-, 1.84- and 2.73-fold risk of MetS, respectively, relative to those in the lowest quartile. Furthermore, UACR, whether as quartile groups or as a continuous variable, is an independent predictor of MetS after fully adjusting for other variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that UACR even within the normal range is independently associated with MetS in Chinese community-based patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital Shanghai, China ; Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Mei-Fang
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Qi-Ming
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Lian-Xi
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yin-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, HuaShan Hospital, Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetology at Fudan University Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xue-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Xi
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Qian
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Ping
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, HuaShan Hospital, Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetology at Fudan University Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Ren-Ming
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hu
keywords: Metabolic syndrome; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Urinary-to-albumin creatinine ratio