The prevalence of microalbuminuria and associated factors among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Botswana

Abstract

Microalbuminuria (MA) has been established as an early marker of both diabetic nephropathy and vascular disease in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of MA and associated factors among patients with type 2 DM in Botswana. Outpatient tertiary clinic. A cross-sectional descriptive study involving 289 patients with type 2DM was conducted from January 2013 to June 2013 in Block 6 Reference Clinic, a tertiary clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. A random spot urine sample was collected from each patient with MA defined as urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) between 3.0 and 30.0 mg/mmol. Data analysis was done using STATA version 12 (College Station, TX, USA). Unpaired Student's t-test was used for compairing means and Chi-squared test was used for comparison of proportions between groups. A P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The majority of recruited patients (191, 66.1%) were females, and the median age (interquartile range) of the patients was 52 (42-53) years. The mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) for the study population was 8.43% with 70.6% of the population having HbA1c over 7%. MA was found in 129 (44.6%) of study participants. The duration of diabetes of 6-10 years, estimated glomerular filtration rate, HbA1c, and higher serum trigerycides levels were significantly associated with presence of MA. High prevalence of MA raises an urgent need for changes in the management of patients with type 2 DM in Botswana, with emphasis on prevention and reduction of MA to avoid development of overt diabetic nephropathy and ensuing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.