Relationship between diabetic complications and the nutritional index in untreated diabetes

Shuji Horinouchi; Mihoko Harada; Sakiko Ikeda; Remi Horinouchi; Misako Kubo; Yuma Tashiro; Ayako Ijuin; Miki Mukai; Yoshihiko Nishio

doi:10.1007/s13340-022-00595-w

Relationship between diabetic complications and the nutritional index in untreated diabetes

Diabetol Int. 2022 Jul 16;14(1):58-64. doi: 10.1007/s13340-022-00595-w. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Shuji Horinouchi¹, Mihoko Harada², Sakiko Ikeda³, Remi Horinouchi³, Misako Kubo³, Yuma Tashiro¹, Ayako Ijuin¹, Miki Mukai¹, Yoshihiko Nishio⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Diabetes and Endocrine Medicine, Kagoshima City Hospital, 37-1 Uearata, Kagoshima, 890-8760 Japan.
² Department of Outpatient Nursing, Kagoshima City Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan.
³ Department of Nutrition Management, Kagoshima City Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan.
⁴ Department of Diabetes and Endocrine Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the association between diabetic complications and the nutritional index at the first hospital visit in untreated patients with diabetes. Two hundred and four patients with untreated type 2 diabetes were enrolled in the present study. Nutrition-related risks were assessed using the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI). The patients were divided into the following three subgroups: major/moderate risk, low risk, and no risk. Intergroup comparisons of clinical characteristics were carried out. The risk of complications related to diabetes was associated with the GNRI. The major/moderate-risk group (GNRI < 92) had a high risk for diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, and diabetic foot, while the low-risk group (GNRI of 92 to ≤ 98) had a high risk for diabetic nephropathy only. The odds ratio of diabetic retinopathy for a major/moderate risk was 17.6. The odds ratio of diabetic nephropathy for a major/moderate risk was 16.7. Nutritional assessment at the first hospital visit using the GNRI could be a simple and useful tool for predicting the risk of diabetic complications in untreated patients with diabetes.

Keywords: Albumin; Diabetic complications; Geriatric nutritional risk index; Nutritional index; Untreated diabetes.