Our exploratory study found that TRIB3 promoter 33bp VNTR was associated with T2DM complicated with cerebrovascular diseases and diabetic retinopathy, which means that this variable number of tandem repeats in TRIB3 promoter may be a new target for predicting T2DM patients with a high risk of vascular diseases in the future. Here, TRIB3 is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.