Association between Urinary Albumin Excretion and Intraocular Pressure in Type 2 Diabetic Patients without Renal Impairment

Background: To assess the relationship between urinary albumin excretion and intraocular pressure (IOP) in type 2 diabetes patients without renal impairment. Methods: We explored the effects of albuminuria on high IOP in 402 non-glaucomatous type 2 diabetes without renal impairment who participated in the 2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between log-transformed albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) tertiles and an IOP of >= 18 mmHg after adjusting for age, gender, hypertension, body mass index, triglycerides, area of residence, and education level. Results: Subjects with a high IOP >= 18 mmHg were more likely to be current smokers (P = 0.038), heavy drinkers (P = 0.006), and to have high systolic blood pressure (P = 0.016), triglycerides (P = 0.008), and a higher log-transformed ACR (P = 0.022). In multivariate regression analysis, ACR tertile was associated with the prevalence of high IOP significantly (P = 0.022). The associations between ACR tertiles and high IOP were significant in overweight patients and those with abdominal obesity (P = 0.003 and 0.003, respectively). In contrast, there were no associations in the subgroup of patients who were not overweight and those without abdominal obesity (P = 0.291 and 0.561, respectively). Conclusions: Urinary albumin excretion is associated with high IOP in the type 2 diabetes population without renal insufficiency. The effect of the albuminuria on IOP was evident in a subgroup of patients with components of metabolic syndrome.