CHI3L1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: However, one study documented that urinary excretion of YKL-40 was significantly elevated among macroalbuminuric T2DM patients (98), while another study reported that plasma YKL-40 was not associated with eGFR decline in participants with type 2 diabetes and varying levels of baseline eGFR (mean eGFR 78 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and albuminuria (99).