Markers reflecting insulin resistance may vary in relation to early diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in individuals with early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A retrospective analysis published in Frontiers in Endocrinology compared the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, the TyG-body mass index (TyG-BMI), and the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in relation to DKD.

The study included 179 patients with early-onset T2DM admitted between January 2024 and June 2025. Based on urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), participants were categorized into a T2DM group (UACR <30 mg/g; n=129) and a DKD group (UACR ≥30 mg/g; n=50). Spearman correlation assessed relationships between insulin resistance-related indices and UACR, while logistic regression identified independent factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated discriminative performance.

Compared with the T2DM group, individuals with DKD had higher values for age, disease duration, triglycerides, urinary total protein, UACR, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), TyG, TyG-BMI, AIP, and total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (all P<0.05). TyG, TyG-BMI, AIP, and TC/HDL-C showed positive correlations with UACR. TyG, TyG-BMI, and AIP were identified as independent factors for DKD. ROC analysis showed AUC values of 0.690 for TyG, 0.600 for TyG-BMI, and 0.678 for AIP, with TyG showing higher discriminative performance.

These indices were evaluated as potential markers in relation to DKD in early-onset T2DM, with TyG demonstrating higher discrimination compared with the other indices.