High Serum FABP4 Levels are Negatively Associated with the Reversion from Prediabetes to Normal Glucose Tolerance: A 2-Year Retrospective Cohort Community Study

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the level of fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) and reversion from prediabetes to normal glucose tolerance (NGT). METHODS: A two-year retrospective cohort study was conducted on 398 participants with complete information. These 398 participants were divided into an NGT group and an abnormal glucose metabolism (AGM) group after 2 years of follow-up. The baseline level of FABP4 was determined, and the role of FABP4 in predicting reversion from prediabetes to NGT was investigated using an unconditional logistic regression model. RESULTS: Over the two-year follow-up period, 37.4% (149/398) of the participants reverted from prediabetes to NGT. The participants with AGM had a higher baseline level of FABP4 than those with NGT. The baseline level of FABP4 was significantly negatively correlated with reversion from prediabetes to NGT. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio, the level of fasting blood glucose (FBG) [odds ratio (OR) 0.336, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.196–0.576)], 2-h post-challenge blood glucose (2hBG) [OR 0.697, 95% CI (0.581–0.837)], and FABP4 [OR 0.960, 95% CI (0.928–0.993)] at baseline were significant independent predictors of reversion from prediabetes to NGT. The area under the curve (AUC) value of the receiver operating characteristic curve for FABP4 was 0.605 (95% CI: 0.546–0.665), and the AUC for FABP4 combined with FBG and 2hBG was 0.716 (95% CI: 0.663–0.769). CONCLUSION: A higher baseline level of FABP4 was positively correlated with an adverse profile of diabetes risk factors and negatively correlated with reversion from prediabetes to NGT. FABP4, FBG and 2hBG were predictors of reversion from prediabetes to NGT.