Assessment of microalbuminuria and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) in random samples has been considered as the most appropriate investigation to detect early renal impairment. Present study was conducted to assess the microalbuminuria (MA) and UACR in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to evaluate the factors associated with MA at a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital over a period of three months. Adult subjects of 18-70 years attending the diabetic outpatient department (OPD) who were advised for investigation of UACR were included. The subjects were interviewed using a pre-designed and pretested data collection form to collect the relevant data including demographic characteristics, co-morbidities and investigational reports of urine samples. Results: Majority of the subjects were female (51.48%) and belonged to the age group of 50 – 59 years (33.73%). Mean (± SD) duration of diabetes was 7.10 (± 7.27) years. Hypertension was the most common co-morbidity (60.94 %). Mean (± SD) value of urinary microalbumin, creatinine and UACR were 63.15 (± 140.56) mg/dl, 94 (± 81.3) mg/dl and 73.04 (± 146.51) respectively. MA was found in 33.73% study subjects. A significant positive correlation was detected between MA and UACR (r=0.4335, p=0.000756). Conclusion: About one third of our study subjects were found to have MA. For early detection of diabetic nephropathy regular assessment and monitoring of UACR should be considered.