Journal Article

Elevated serum galectin‐3 levels predict the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Japanese general population: A 10‐year follow‐up study

Enomoto, Mika, Takubo‐Yoshimura, Harumi, Fukumoto, Yoshihiro, Fukami, Ako, Nohara‐Shitama, Yume, Morikawa, Nagisa, Adachi, Hisashi, Shimoyama‐Yamamoto, Mayo, Sato, Hiromi

2026

Overview

Although several studies have reported elevated serum galectin-3 levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus, its association with type 2 diabetes mellitus, in Japan, where obesity is relatively uncommon, remains unclear. We investigated whether serum galectin-3 levels can be a predictive marker for type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Japanese general population. A total of 433 participants who underwent a health check-up in Nagasaki between 2013 and 2014 were enrolled; of these, 307 participants completed follow-up by 2023. Participants were classified into quartiles based on serum galectin-3 levels measured by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. The serum galectin-3 levels were associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence (P = 0.002) in the regression analysis. Over the 10-year follow-up, the highest galectin-3 quartile had a higher type 2 diabetes mellitus incidence than the lowest galectin-3 quartile (adjusted odds ratio: 5.75; 95% confidence interval: 1.08-30.65). Subgroup analysis stratified by body mass index revealed that each 1-standard deviation increase in serum galectin-3 level was associated with a significantly increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus in the low body mass index group, but not in the high body mass index group. The serum galectin-3 levels were significantly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence and incidence in a general Japanese population, particularly among individuals without obesity. Galectin-3 may be a useful biomarker for identifying individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.