Nooshin Shirzad, Fateme Ziamanesh, Seyedahmad Seyedalinaghi , Alireza Esteghamati , Mahboobeh Hemmatabadi ,
Volume 83, Issue 3 (6-2025)
Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are diagnosed with a wide range of renal damage, usually presenting with albuminuria and decreased estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR). Some patients have only albuminuria and normal eGFR, while others have normoalbuminuria even in advanced stages of chronic kidney disease. This study investigated and followed the course of diabetic nephropathy in patients with T2DM.
Methods: 1107 patients with T2DM were enrolled in the study. This historical cohort was conducted between the years 2017 and 2022. Patients with confirmed type 2 DM, referred to the diabetes clinic of Vali-Asr Hospital, affiliated with the Tehran University of Medical Science. Complete medical history, blood pressure, and laboratory data were obtained in the first and follow-up visits. Follow-up was every 3 to 6 months for 30 months. Every year, 24-hour urinary albumin was measured, and eGFR was estimated based on the Cockcroft-Gault formula.
Results: Male sex, age, disease duration, weight, systolic blood pressure, 2 hours postprandial (2hpp) glucose, serum triglyceride, and uric acid significantly correlated with albuminuria. At the initiation of the study, the highest eGFR values occurred in microalbuminuric patients, followed by a sharp decrease. No significant correlation was found between eGFR and albuminuria in most patients, and more than half of them with eGFR of less than 60 ml/min/m2 still had normal albuminuria
Conclusion: This study showed that patients with microalbuminuria and normoalbuminuria had the highest eGFR values followed by macroalbuminuria, but patients with normoalbuminuria and microalbuminuria had an initial increase and then a decrease, and the macroalbuminuria group showed the sustained and greatest decrease during the follow-up period. Serial surveillance of both albuminuria and GFR is crucial in T2DM.