ADIPOQ rs1063537 polymorphism correlates with diabetic kidney disease severity in southern Chinese Han patients with type 2 diabetes

Currently, there are many studies on the relationship between the ADIPOQ gene polymorphisms and the onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and the research results vary among different regions and ethnic groups. However, there are relatively few studies on the relationship between ADIPOQ gene polymorphisms and the occurrence and severity of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). This study aims to investigate the association of DKD with the ADIPOQ gene polymorphisms rs2241766 and rs1063537 in patients with T2D in the Han population in southern China. A total of 347 patients with type 2 diabetic kidney disease (T2DKD) from the Jinhua area in central Zhejiang between 2021 and 2023 were enrolled as the case group, which was divided into the microalbuminuria phase (group I: urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio [UACR] 30-299 mg/g, 185 cases) and the macroalbuminuria phase (group II: UACR ≥ 300 mg/g, 162 cases) based on UACR. Meanwhile, 191 patients with T2D and without kidney disease were recruited as the control group during the same period. The KASP-PCR (competitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction) technique was used for genotyping of the rs2241766 and rs1063537 loci in the ADIPOQ gene, aiming to explore their associations with the occurrence and severity of T2DKD. The frequency of the TT genotype at the rs1063537 locus was 8.6% in group I and 15.4% in group II, with a statistically significant difference in distribution between the 2 groups (P < .05). After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), diabetes duration, hypertension status, creatinine, and fasting plasma glucose, this genotype was significantly associated with the macroalbuminuria phase of T2DKD (P = .016), meaning that carriers of the TT genotype had a 2.47-fold higher risk of developing macroalbuminuria compared with those with the CC genotype. No statistically significant differences were observed in the genotype distributions of the rs2241766 and rs1063537 loci in the ADIPOQ gene between the case group and the control group (P > .05). In the Han population in southern China, the TT genotype at the rs1063537 locus of the ADIPOQ gene in patients with T2DKD is significantly associated with the presence of the macroalbuminuria stage.