Clinical Significance of Skin Autofluorescence in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus With Chronic Heart Failure

BACKGROUND: Recent clinical studies have shown that skin autofluorescence (AF) levels are significantly associated with diabetic complications. In contrast, data regarding the relationships between skin AF and chronic heart failure (CHF) are limited. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical significance of skin AF in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) with CHF. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 257 outpatients with type 2 DM with CHF who were treated medically (96 men and 161 women; mean age, 79 ± 7 years). Associations between skin AF and various clinical parameters were examined. RESULTS: Incidence of skin AF in patients with a history of hospitalization due to HF was significantly higher than in those without a history of hospitalization due to HF (3.0 ± 0.5 AU vs. 2.7 ± 0.5 AU, respectively, P < 0.001). Significant positive correlations were found between skin AF and various clinical parameters, such as E/e′ as a maker of left ventricular diastolic function (r = 0.30, P < 0.001), high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels as a marker of myocardial injury (r = 0.45, P < 0.001), reactive oxygen metabolite levels as an oxidative stress marker (r = 0.31, P < 0.001), and cardio-ankle vascular index as a marker of arterial function (r = 0.38, P < 0.001). Furthermore, multiple regression analyses showed that these clinical parameters (E/e′ (β = 0.25, P < 0.001)), high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels (β = 0.30, P < 0.001), cardio-ankle vascular index (β = 0.21, P < 0.001), reactive oxygen metabolite levels (β = 0.15, P < 0.01), and a history of hospitalization due to HF (β = 0.23, P < 0.001) were independent variables when skin AF was used as a subordinate factor. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study showed that skin AF may be a determining factor for prognosis in patients with type 2 DM with CHF. Further investigations in a large prospective study, including intervention therapies, are required to validate the results of this study.