Older age, longer diabetes duration, higher BMI, systolic blood pressure, fasting serum triglycerides and urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR), ischemic heart disease, retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy and eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2, and prior hospitalization for any infection (as principal diagnosis between January 1982 and FDS1 study entry) were all associated with hospitalization for any infection during follow-up in bivariate analyses (P<0.05; see Table 2). This evidence concerns the gene ALB and infection.