ArticleDiabetology & metabolic syndrome2023
High-normal serum bilirubin decreased the risk of lower limb atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes: a real-world study.
Article in Diabetology & metabolic syndrome, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bilirubin as a predictor of severity and adverse clinical outcomes of acute ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Association between serum bilirubin levels and carotid atherosclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- High estradiol/testosterone ratio increased the risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Journal of diabetes investigation · 2026Observational
- The Burden of Multiple Metabolic Diseases and Their Impact on Cardiovascular and Kidney Complications in Type 2 Diabetes: A 10-Year Real-World Study.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2025Article
- Article
- The Metabolic Characteristics of Patients at the Risk for Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Comparative Study of Diabetic Patients with and without Diabetic Foot.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundBilirubin has been found to protect against overt atherosclerotic diseases, but to date, few studies have investigated the effects of bilirubin especially within the normal range on lower limb atherosclerosis. Therefore, we aimed to assess the associations of bilirubin within normal limits including total bilirubin (TB), conjugated bilirubin (CB) and unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) with lower limb atherosclerosis in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
methods7284 T2DM patients with normal levels of serum bilirubin were included in this cross-sectional, real-world study. Patients were divided into quintiles by TB levels (< 8.7, 8.7-10.19, 10.20-11.99, 12-13.99, > 13.99 µmol/L). Lower limb ultrasonography was conducted to detect lower limb plaque and stenosis. The association between serum bilirubin and lower limb atherosclerosis was explored by multiple logistic regression.
resultsA remarkable decrease in the prevalence of lower limb plaque (77.5, 75.3, 70.7, 71.7 and 67.9%) and stenosis (21.1, 17.2, 13.3, 13.0 and 12.0%) was observed across the TB quintiles. Multivariable regression analysis showed that serum TB levels were negatively correlated with higher risks of lower limb plaque and stenosis, both as a continuous variable [OR (95%CI): 0.870 (0.784-0.964), p = 0.008 for plaque; and 0.835 (0.737-0.946), p = 0.005 for stenosis] and as categorized in quintiles (p = 0.015 and 0.016 for plaque and stenosis). Interestingly, serum CB levels were only negatively correlated with lower limb stenosis [OR (95%CI): 0.767 (0.685-0.858), p < 0.001], whereas serum UCB levels were only negatively associated with lower limb plaque [ OR (95%CI): 0.864 (0.784-0.952), p = 0.003] after a fully-adjusted analysis. Furthermore, serum CRP was significantly decreased across the TB quintiles and negatively associated with serum TB (r = -0.107, p < 0.001), CB (r = -0.054, p < 0.001), and UCB (r = -0.103, p < 0.001).
conclusionsHigh-normal serum bilirubin levels were independently and significantly related to reduced risks of lower limb atherosclerosis in T2DM patients. Furthermore, serum bilirubin levels including TB, CB and UCB were inversely correlated with CRP. These results suggested that higher-normal serum bilirubin may exhibit an anti-inflammatory and protective effect against lower limb atherosclerotic progression in T2DM subjects.
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