English

Abstract

Background and Objectives: 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 the presence of microalbuminuria. The aim of our study was to know the occurrence of microalbuminuria 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.Methods. A total of fifty randomly selected diabetic patients s atisfying the inclusion criteria were selected for the study. All patients were evaluated in detail along with the testing for microalbuminuria with dipsticks (Micral)Results: The overall occurrence of microalbuminuria was 38%. The occurrence of microalbuminuria 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 microalbuminuria (p=0.018). Patients with a body mass index of more than 25kg/m2 have significant increase in the incidence of microalbuminuria (p=0.027). The incidence of microalbuminuria is significantly associated with the presence of retinopathy (p=0.073), peripheral neuropathy (p=0.009), ischemic heart disease (p=0.011) and hypertension (p=0.001). Microalbuminuria is inversely associated with HDL (p= 0.089).Interpretation & Conclusion: The occurrence of microalbuminuria in Type 2 diabetic patients of chidambaram was quite high. During the evaluation of diabetic patients the possibility of microalbuminuria and its correlation with various complications of diabetes mellitus should be kept in mind