Abstract & Overview
BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common endocrine disorders, characterized by hyperglycemia. Diabetic nephropathy is a consequence of long- standing diabetes and urinary microalbumin (Uma) status predicts progression to diabetic nephropathy. This study was conducted to know the status of Uma in relation to duration of diabetes and HbA1c level in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from July 1, 2014 to January 15, 2015 at TUTH, Kathmandu. Ninety-six known T2DM patients with age 35– 83 years were included in the study. EDTA venous blood and spot urine sample were collected for analysis of HbA1c and Uma respectively. Only those patients having HbA1c concentration ≥ 6.3% and duration of diabetes ≥ 6 months were included under the study. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of microalbuminuria (MAU) was 39.6 %. MAU had a highly significant correlation with duration of diabetes (r =0.471, p<0.05). Present study has shown positive correlation of MAU with HbA1c level, although statistically insignificant (r=0.245, p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged exposure to hyperglycemia-induced advanced glycosylation end products accumulations contributes for the development of MAU. So, duration of diabetes mellitus is main contributing factor for the development of MAU rather than HbA1c level alone. Screening for MAU to prevent renal impairment and measuring HbA1c level on a regular basis for good glycemic control are important in diabetic patients. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/acclm.v1i1.12310 Ann. Clin. Chem. & Lab. Med. 1(1) 2015: 21-24