A total of 209 type 2 diabetic patients were divided into three groups:without,with mild to moderate,or severe diabetic lower extremity arterial disease based on the ankle brachial index value.60 healthy subjects were used as a control group.Retinol binding protein4 (RBP4),cystatin C,and biochemical parameters were determined in all subjects.The results showed that RBP4 and cystatin C levels were progressively raised with the increasing severity of lower extremity arterial disease in various groups,being significantly higher in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with mild to moderate and severe arterial disease compared with control group (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).RBP4 and cystatin C levels in groups with lower extremity arterial disease were significantly higher than those in the group without arterial disease (P＜0.01).Pearson correlation analysis showed that RBP4 level was positively correlated with total cholesterol,triglyceride,low density lipoprotein-cholesterol,fasting serum insulin,body mass index,cystatin C etc while negatively correlated with high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Logistic regression analysis showed that serum RBP4 and cystatin C were significantly associated with lower extremity arterial disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Two hundred and sixty-one subjects were recruited from in-patients and subjects for phaysical Check-up,and were divided into normal control group (NC),nonalcoholic fatty liver disease group (NAFLD),type 2 diabetes mellitus group (T2DM),and T2DM accompanied by NAFLD group (DMN).According to the result of ultrasonic examination,the patients with T2DM were further divided into non-NAFLD group,light fatty liver group (NAFLD-L group),moderate fatty liver group(NAFLD-M group),and severe fatty liver(NAFLD-S group).Fasting plasma glucose,blood lipid,liver function,kidney function,and serum retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) levels were determined.The risk of various indicators for NAFLD was determined by correlation analysis and logistic regression analysis.The results showed that fasting glucose levels in diabetics with or without NAFLD were significantly higher than those in NC and NAFLD groups(P＜0.01).Triglyceride (TG) level in DMN group was significantly higher than those in other three groups(all P＜0.01),while high density lipoprotein-cholesterol level was lower than those in other three groups(all P＜0.01).Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in DMN group were higher than those in NC and T2DM groups (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Serum RBP4 level in patients with NAFLD was significantly higher compared with the subjects without NAFLD [45.00 (38.75,51.00) mg/L vs 51.00 (43.00,62.00) mg/L,P ＜0.01],and was rising with the progress of NAFLD [NAFLD-L group 44.00 (37.00,51.00) mg/L,NAFLD-M group 52.00(46.00,63.00) mg/L,and NAFLD-S group 78.5 (72.75,83.00) mg/L,all P＜0.01].Logistic regression analysis showed that the RBP4 level was an independent factor associated with NAFLD (P =0.029).In addition,serum RBP4 level was correlated with body mass index,waist-to-hip ratio,serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase,total cholesterol,TG,aspartate aminotransferase,alanine aminotransferase,prealbumin,creatinine,blood urea nitrogen,and uric acid.These resuhs suggest that serum RBP4 is an independent risk factor of NAFLD.