Plasma apolipoprotein M level and estimated glomerular filtration rate in type 2 diabetes patients with and without albuminuria

This study aimed to evaluate the association between apolipoprotein M (apoM) levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with and without albuminuria. A total of 352 individuals with T2D were enrolled in this cross‑sectional investigation. eGFR was calculated using the creatinine‑cystatin C (eGFRcre‑cys) and creatinine (eGFRcre) equations. Based on the urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR), the subjects were divided into those with normoalbuminuria (< 30 mg/g) and albuminuria (≥ 30 mg/g). Higher plasma apoM levels were associated with lower eGFRcre‑cys and eGFRcre in both groups of patients. A negative correlation between apoM levels and eGFRcre‑cys was observed among subjects with normoalbuminuria (γ = − 0.30, p < 0.001) and albuminuria (γ = − 0.54, p < 0.001). In multivariate regression analyses, apoM levels remained significantly associated with eGFRcre‑cys after adjusting for age, sex and other variables, including UACR as a continuous (β = − 0.31, 95% CI − 0.89 to − 0.49, p < 0.001) or categorical (β = − 0.33, 95% CI − 0.95 to − 0.55, p < 0.001) variable. Similar results were obtained in correlation and regression analyses for eGFRcre. The findings demonstrated that apoM levels were negatively correlated with eGFR in individuals with T2D regardless of albuminuria status.