Underweight Increases the Risk of End-Stage Renal Diseases for Type 2 Diabetes in Korean Population: Data From the National Health Insurance Service Health Checkups 2009-2017.

OBJECTIVE: There is a controversy over the association between obesity and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in people with or without type 2 diabetes; therefore, we examined the effect of BMI on the risk of ESRD according to glycemic status in the Korean population.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study monitored 9,969,848 participants who underwent a National Health Insurance Service health checkup in 2009 from baseline to the date of diagnosis of ESRD during a follow-up period of ∼8.2 years. Obesity was categorized by World Health Organization recommendations for Asian populations, and glycemic status was categorized into the following five groups: normal, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), newly diagnosed diabetes, diabetes <5 years, and diabetes ≥5 years.

RESULTS: Underweight was associated with a higher risk of ESRD in all participants after adjusting for all covariates. In the groups with IFG, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, diabetes duration <5 years, and diabetes ≥5 years, the hazard ratio (HR) of the underweight group increased with worsening glycemic status (HR 1.431 for IFG; 2.114 for newly diagnosed diabetes; 4.351 for diabetes <5 years; and 6.397 for diabetes ≥5 years), using normal weight with normal fasting glucose as a reference. The adjusted HRs for ESRD were also the highest in the sustained underweight group regardless of the presence of type 2 diabetes (HR 1.606 for nondiabetes, and 2.14 for diabetes).

CONCLUSIONS: Underweight showed more increased HR of ESRD according to glycemic status and diabetes duration in the Korean population. These associations also persisted in the group with sustained BMI during the study period.