Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Levels Are Correlated with the Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy

Table 1

Clinical and laboratory features of the patient and control groups. Values are means (±SD) or number (%).

	Control (𝑛=68)	Patients (𝑛=117)	𝑃 value
Age (years)	58.5±11.3	60.3±10.2	0.343
Sex (M/F)	37/31	63/54	0.362
BMI (kg/m^2)	25.7±6.8	32.9±7.9	<0.001
Systolic BP (mmHg)	129.88±11.58	133.69±8.32	0.462
Diastolic BP (mmHg)	83.63±3.69	84.33±4.39	0.653
Total cholesterol (mmol/L)	11.55±2.13	11.39±1.57	0.852
Triglycerides (mmol/L)	6.93±1.74	7.21±1.14	0.578
LDL cholesterol (mmol/L)	6.77±3.61	6.54±0.75	0.842
HDL cholesterol (mmol/L)	2.33±0.58	2.31±0.55	0.673
Insulin (𝜇U/mL)	6.55±1.03	13.13±8.74	<0.001
HOMA-IR	1.33±0.34	3.11±0.84	<0.001
HbA1c (%)	5.9±0.7	8.0±0.8	<0.001
FPG (mmol/L)	4.54±1.53	7.66±1.47	<0.001
Macrovascular disease	13 (13%)	39 (36%)	<0.001
FGF21* (pg/mL)	125.9±39.3	542.3±80.5	<0.001

DM: diabetes mellitus, DR: diabetic retinopathy, NPDR: nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, PDR: proliferative diabetic retinopathy, BP: blood pressure, and FPG: fasting plasma glucose. Macrovascular disease represents coronary disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease.
*Bonferroni-adjusted 𝑡-test: 𝑃=0.001 compare with Control.