Weight Change and Microvascular Outcomes in Patients with New-onset Diabetes: a Nationwide Cohort Study

Background/aims: Because weight control is important in treatment of type 2 diabetes, it is essential to understand the associations between weight change and the risk of microvascular complications among patients with type 2 diabetes. We examined whether weight changes early after new-onset diabetes have an impact on the clinical outcomes of diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy.

Methods: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort database, 181,872 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were free of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) during 2007 to 2012 were followed to the end of 2016. Weight change was defined as the difference in body weight from the time of diabetes diagnosis to 2 years later.

Results: We identified 180 cases of ESRD and 780 cases of PDR followed up for a median of 5.5 years from the index year at 2 years after diagnosis. Those with 5% to 10% weight gain showed a significantly higher hazard ratio (HR) for ESRD, compared with those with ≤ 5% weight change after adjusting for several confounding factors, including the baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (HR, 1.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 2.70). Those with ≥ 10% weight loss showed the lowest HR for PDR (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.83), whereas those with ≥ 10% weight gain showed the highest HR for PDR (HR, 3.20; 95% CI, 2.51 to 4.08).

Conclusion: Weight gain after new-onset diabetes was associated with increased risk of ESRD and PDR whereas weight loss with decreased risk of PDR, but not ESRD.