Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio in patients with diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy

We investigated the relationship of monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) with diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy. A total of 220 diabetes mellitus patients and 70 healthy controls were enrolled. There was no difference in an MHR between normoalbuminuric diabetic patients and the healthy controls. The MHR in patients with diabetic nephropathy was significantly higher than that of both the normoalbuminuric diabetic patients and the healthy controls. There was a significant positive correlation between urine albumin to creatinine ratio and the MHR. In multivariate linear regression analysis, the MHR was independently correlated with urine albumin to creatinine ratio. An increased MHR may be a biomarker for diabetic nephropathy.