Anjum Sultana Khatoon1, Raisa Faheem2
BACKGROUND
Diabetic nephropathy is a dreaded complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, in the early stages, also known as incipient nephropathy, it can be detected by presence of proteinuria. The aim of our study is to know the occurrence of proteinuria in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and to note its associations with the duration of diabetes since diagnosis and also the various macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was undertaken in Princess Esra Hospital/DCMS - Hyderabad. A total of one hundred randomly selected diabetic patients satisfying the inclusion criteria were selected for the study. All patients were evaluated in detail along with the testing for proteinuria with dipsticks (Micral).
RESULTS
The overall occurrence of proteinuria was 38%. The occurrence of proteinuria showed a direct relationship with increasing age (p=0.053) and increasing duration of diabetes since diagnosis. An HbA1c value above 7% is associated with 50% or higher incidence of proteinuria (p=0.018). Patients with a body mass index of more than 25 kg/m2 have significant increase in the incidence of proteinuria (p=0.027). The incidence of proteinuria is significantly associated with the presence of retinopathy (p=0.073), peripheral neuropathy (p=0.009), ischaemic heart disease (p=0.011) and hypertension (p=0.001). Proteinuria is inversely associated with HDL (p=0.089).
CONCLUSION
The occurrence of proteinuria in type 2 diabetic patients of Hyderabad was quite high. During the evaluation of diabetic patients, the possibility of proteinuria and its correlation with various complications of diabetes mellitus should be kept in mind.
