Left atrial diameter is associated with target organ damage in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

This paper aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between left atrial diameter (LAD) and target organ damage (TOD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Two-hundred-and-eleven patients with type 2 DM were recruited. Data on left ventricular mass index (LVMI), diabetic retinopathy, carotid intima–media thickness/carotid plaque, micro-albuminuria, and serum creatinine levels were collected to determine whether TOD occurred in patients with type 2 DM. Age, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, a history of DM, Framingham Score, and 10-year risk were used to assess cardiovascular disease risk. Patients were divided into four groups: zero TOD (group I, n = 50), one TOD marker (group II, n = 76), two TOD markers (group III, n = 51), and at least three TOD markers (group IV, n = 34). Using multivariate regression analyses, age, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, a history of DM, Framingham Score, and 10-year risk were significantly associated with LAD. LAD was associated with an increased number of markers for TOD. Univariate analyses demonstrated significant relationships between LAD and TOD in the context of serum creatinine and urinary albumin creatinine ratio (r = 0.292, p < 0.001), creatinine (r = 0.346, p < 0.001), carotid intima–media thickness (r = 0.128, p = 0.032), and LVMI (r = 0.399, p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analyses also determined that LVMI and creatinine were independent predictors of LAD enlargement. LAD may be associated with cardiovascular disease risk. LAD enlargement could be an effective indicator of TOD, particularly renal impairment and left ventricular hypertrophy. Screening for LAD may offer a new and rapid approach for evaluating the severity of DM.