Atherogenic Index of Plasma is Associated with Body Fat Level in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of body fat distribution and the relationship between body fat index and Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods: A total of 316 participants were divided into a T2DM group and a non-diabetes group (controls). According to the Visceral Fat Area (VFA), all participants were further divided into VFA ≥100 cm2 and VFA <100 cm2 groups. To compare the differences of blood lipid, blood glucose, body fat index and AIP between the 2 groups, single factor correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between the indexes and AIP, and multiple linear regression was used to analyse the correlation between the related factors and AIP. Results: The body fat index (including body fat content, Percentage of Body Fat (PBF), Waist to Hip Fat Ratio (WHR) and VFA), Triglyceride (TG), Fasting Insulin (FINS), Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and AIP in T2DM group were significantly higher than in the control group, while High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) level was significantly higher in the control group. In the VFA ≥ 100 cm2 group, TG, Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C), FINS, HOMAIR and AIP were all higher than that in the VFA <100 cm2 group. There was a positive correlation between AIP and VFA, body fat content, percentage of body fat, and WHR, respectively. There was also a negative correlation between AIP and HDL-C, which was not related to age, sex, Fasting Glucose (FPG), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), Total Cholesterol (TC), LDL-C and course of disease. Compared with the VFA <100 cm2 group, the VFA ≥100 cm2 group had higher blood Uric Acid (UA) levels and UA was positively correlated with VFA. After correcting the effect of UA on AIP, VFA was still an independent related factor of AIP, and VFA increased the risk of atherosclerosis by increased UA. Conclusion: T2DM patients have the abnormal distribution of body fat and a high VFA, which was associated with AIP. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, atherogenic index of plasma, visceral fat area, T2DM, VFA, HDL-C.