Elevated serum galectin-3 levels predict the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Japanese general population: A 10-year follow-up study.

AIMS/

INTRODUCTION

Although several studies have reported elevated serum galectin-3 levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus, its association with type 2 diabetes mellitus, in Japan, where obesity is relatively uncommon, remains unclear. We investigated whether serum galectin-3 levels can be a predictive marker for type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Japanese general population.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A total of 433 participants who underwent a health check-up in Nagasaki between 2013 and 2014 were enrolled; of these, 307 participants completed follow-up by 2023. Participants were classified into quartiles based on serum galectin-3 levels measured by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed.

RESULTS

The serum galectin-3 levels were associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence (P = 0.002) in the regression analysis. Over the 10-year follow-up, the highest galectin-3 quartile had a higher type 2 diabetes mellitus incidence than the lowest galectin-3 quartile (adjusted odds ratio: 5.75; 95% confidence interval: 1.08-30.65). Subgroup analysis stratified by body mass index revealed that each 1-standard deviation increase in serum galectin-3 level was associated with a significantly increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus in the low body mass index group, but not in the high body mass index group.

CONCLUSIONS

The serum galectin-3 levels were significantly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence and incidence in a general Japanese population, particularly among individuals without obesity. Galectin-3 may be a useful biomarker for identifying individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.