Visual Abstract

Objective: Increased hemoglobin (HGB) has been described as an adaptive response to hypoxia in high altitude. This study aimed to investigate whether increased HGB level had a role in the development of albuminuria in Tibetan male patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: This cross-sectional, hospital-based study utilized data from 653 Tibetan male patients with T2D from 2018-2020. Patients were divided into two groups based on HGB level (group 1: 12.0 ≤ HGB < 16.0 g/dL;group 2: HGB ≥16.0 g/dL). Albuminuria was defined as urinary albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) ≥ 30 mg/g.

Results: Clinical characteristics of subjects was showed in Table 1. Albuminuria was confirmed in 140 (21.4%) patients. In multiple logistic regression analysis, patients with higher HGB level showed an odds ratio of 1.28 (95% CI: 0.90-1.83; P=0.167) for albuminuria compared to those with lower HGB level. After adjusted age, duration of T2D, BMI, LDL-C, HbA1c and the presence of hypertension, patients with higher HGB level were at a 1.50-fold (95% CI: 1.01-2.27; P=0.046) higher prevalence of albuminuria.

Conclusions: Our finding indicate that higher HGB level was independently associated with increased presence of albuminuria in Tibetan male patients with T2D.

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Disclosure

C. Zhang: None.

© 2021 by the American Diabetes Association
2021
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