Platelet-to-albumin ratio is a potential biomarker for predicting diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.

To evaluate whether platelet-to-albumin ratio (PAR) can predict diabetic nephropathy (DN) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A total of 140 patients with T2DM and 40 healthy individuals were enrolled retrospectively. T2DM patients were divided into three groups based on the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, PAR was compared and receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to evaluate the predictive value of PAR in DN in T2DM. There was a significant increase of PAR in DN among T2DM patients and PAR was positively correlated with serum creatinine, retinol-conjugated protein and β-microglobulin. Moreover, PAR was a risk factor for DN in T2DM patients, which predicted DN in T2DM with high sensitivity and specificity. PAR can be a potential candidate to predict DN in T2DM.