Frequency of Microvascular Complications in the Early Phase of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 with Albuminuria

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (DM2) is characterized by varying degrees of insulin resistance, impaired insulin secretion, and increased glucose production. Some people with DM2 have more complications such as nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy. The earliest stage of renal impairment occurs with prolonged microalbuminuria. This study aimed to determine the incidence of the most common microvascular complications in DM2 patients.
METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the data of 126 patients who had undergone treatment in 2014. It includes anamnesis, laboratory, and physical examination data from the patient histories. All patients with early stage DM2 were separated into two groups based on the presence of albuminuria: Group I - macroalbuminuria and Group II - microalbuminuria (<300 mg). Analysis and statistical processing of the collected data were performed to evaluate microvascular complications and determine the incidence of albuminuria in the studied population.
RESULTS: The prevalence of macroalbuminuria was 60.3% (76 patients). In both groups, as in the total sample, the frequency of women was higher (57.9%). The prevalence of macroalbuminuria was strongly influenced by age (≥65 years) of the patients (72.4%, average age = 69.8±11.1 years). Microalbuminuria has been proven to be an extremely significant marker for development of microvascular complications in DM2 (retinopathy 39.5%, neuropathy 52.6%, and nephropathy 54%).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis of microvascular complications and an adequate therapeutic approach is needed to prevent disability. Therefore, it is important to introduce the screening for the presence of microalbuminuria in practice, which will identify patients at increased risk of developing microvascular complications.