Serum uric acid to creatinine ratio correlates with β-cell function in type 2 diabetes.

Background: The correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) and β-cell function remains controversial. The present study aims to use a new index, renal function-normalized SUA, to observe its correlation with β-cell function in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Methods: A total of 713 patients with T2DM received standard 75-g oral glucose tolerance and insulin release test. Renal function-normalized SUA was calculated using SUA/creatinine and β-cell function was assessed by HOMA-B. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between SUA/creatinine and β-cell function.

Results: There are positive correlations between SUA/creatinine and HOMA-B (r = 0.143, P < 0.001), as well as other indexes of β-cell function including modified β-cell function index (r = 0.104, P = 0.007), InsAUC30 (r = 0.100, P = 0.008), and InsAUC120 (r = 0.124, P = 0.001). SUA/creatinine also positively correlates with insulin resistance (HOMA-IR: r = 0.161, P < 0.001). Moreover, multivariate analysis revealed that SUA/creatinine was significantly associated with preserved β-cell function, independently of potential confounders including sex, BMI, and renal function.

Conclusions: SUA to creatinine ratio correlates with β-cell function in T2DM patients.