Interactive effect of serum uric acid and total bilirubin for micro-vascular disease of type 2 diabetes in China

Serum uric acid (SUA) and bilirubin at high levels had both pro-oxidant and anti-oxidant properties. The present study aimed to examine additive interactions between SUA and total bilirubin (TBIL) for the risk of micro-vascular disease (MVD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A cross-sectional survey of 6713 inpatients with T2DM was conducted in 81 tertiary care hospitals in China. MVD was defined as having either prior diabetic retinopathy (DR) or diabetic nephropathy (DN). Binary logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios of SUA and TBIL for MVD. Additive interaction was measured by three indices, i.e., relative excess risk due to interaction, attributable proportion due to interaction and synergy index. Among 6713 inpatients, 408 (6.08%) suffered from MVD. SUA ≥ 283 μmol/l (i.e., its media) was defined as high SUA, and TBIL