Correlation analysis between hemoglobin and type 2 diabetic nephropathy: a two-center retrospective study

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between hemoglobin (Hb) levels and diabetic nephropathy (DN) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: We recruited patients with T2DM from two centers, collected their clinical data, and analyzed the relationship between Hb levels and DN using binary logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline squares (RCS) plots. Results: A total of 1956 patients with T2DM were enrolled, including 784 (40.1%) with DN. After adjusting for several confounding factors, the proportion of patients with DN in Q1 of Hb was significantly higher than that in the other group. The RCS curve revealed that Hb levels were inversely proportional to DN. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that age, gender, history of hypertension, history of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and history of diabetic retinopathy exhibited no significant correlation with Hb levels and DN. Conclusions: Low Hb level is closely associated with DN occurrence, and can be used as a predictive biomarker for DN.