Lower creatinine-to-body weight ratio associated with increased prediabetes risk in Chinese adults

A retrospective cohort study examined the association between baseline creatinine-to-body weight ratio (Cre/BW) and incident prediabetes in 173,476 Chinese adults from health check-up programs across 11 cities. Participants were followed for a median of 3.0 years, during which 18,506 (10.67%) developed prediabetes. The primary analysis found that a lower Cre/BW ratio was associated with increased prediabetes risk, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.869 (95% CI: 0.806-0.973).

Subgroup analyses suggested the association might be more pronounced in certain populations. For participants aged 30-40 years, the HR was 0.614 (95% CI: 0.532-0.708), and for females, the HR was 0.726 (95% CI: 0.640-0.824). The study also noted that the association appeared stronger below an inflection point (HR=0.407, 95% CI: 0.328-0.506), though absolute numbers for these subgroup analyses were not reported.

Safety and tolerability data were not reported in this observational analysis. The study has several limitations: it is observational and therefore cannot establish causation, only association. Key details including funding sources, conflicts of interest, and specific practice relevance were not reported. The findings should be interpreted cautiously as they represent associations in a specific population of Chinese adults undergoing health check-ups.

For clinical practice, this evidence suggests that Cre/BW ratio might serve as a potential marker for prediabetes risk assessment in similar populations. However, the observational nature of the study means these findings require validation in prospective studies before considering clinical application. The stronger associations in younger adults and females warrant further investigation but should not guide clinical decisions without additional evidence.