Diabetes Mellitus Mediates the Relationship Between Atherogenic Index of Plasma and Gallstones: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Wenyi Du; Yixuan Wang; Chen Song; Zhiqiang Tian; Yuan Liu; Wei Shen

doi:10.2147/DMSO.S449562

Diabetes Mellitus Mediates the Relationship Between Atherogenic Index of Plasma and Gallstones: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2024 Jan 23:17:317-332. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S449562. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Wenyi Du^#¹, Yixuan Wang^#², Chen Song¹, Zhiqiang Tian¹, Yuan Liu¹, Wei Shen¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, The Affiliated Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China.
² Medical Integration and Practice Center, Reproductive Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: Previous studies have shown a correlation between diabetes mellitus and gallstone formation. The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) is associated with many metabolic diseases. However, insufficient evidence still exists to elucidate the association between AIP and gallstones. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between AIP and gallstones in US adults, and the secondary objective was to analyze whether diabetes plays a mediating role in the association.

Patients and methods: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2017 and March 2020, this study investigated the association between AIP and gallstone incidence in US adults. A variety of statistical methods were used to analyze the data in this study, including multivariate logistic regression, subgroup analyses, restricted cubic spline curves (RCS), and mediation effects analysis. In addition, two-stage linear regression was used to detect possible threshold and saturation effects.

Results: A total of 6952 subjects were enrolled in the trial, of which 748 patients were diagnosed with gallstones. A significant positive association between AIP and gallstones was observed by fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.45 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of (1.09, 1.93). In addition, a non-linear positive association and saturation effect between AIP and gallstones were found, with an inflection point of 0.2246. Mediation analysis showed that diabetes had a mediating effect of 16.9% in the association between AIP and gallstones.

Conclusion: This study suggests that elevated levels of AIP are linked to an augmented vulnerability to gallstone development, with diabetes serving as a mediating factor. These findings present a novel perspective on clinical approaches to prevent and manage gallstones.

Keywords: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; atherogenic index of plasma; cross-sectional studies; diabetes mellitus; gallstones.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Top Talent Support Program for young and middle-aged people of the Wuxi Health Committee (Grant No. HB2020007).