Prevalence and predictors of microalbuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional observational study in Bangladesh

Background: Microalbuminuria is considered to be an early stage of diabetic nephropathy as well as marker of cardiovascular disease. Objective: The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence and predictors of microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetic subjects of Bangladesh. Subjects and methods: A total of 578 type 2 diabetic patients (male 308, female 270) with the mean age of 51.00±7.0 years were analyzed. Different biochemical parameters e.g. Serum glucose, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), serum creatinine, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and HbA1c were measured using available commercial kits. Microalbuminuria was measured by strip. Results: The prevalence of microalbuminuria among type 2 diabetic patients was 43.07%. Prevalence of microalbuminuria was marginally higher in male than in female (male 47.54%, female 38.51%). Subjects with microalbuminuria had significantly higher blood pressure, body mass index, fasting blood sugar (FBS), LDL cholesterol, serum creatinine, HbA1c, triglycerides (p<0.001), duration of diabetes (p<0.05) and significantly lower HDL cholesterol (p<0.001) than microalbuminuria absent group. Significant predictors for the development of microalbuminuria included age, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, hypertension and retinopathy. Conclusion: Screening of microalbuminurea and its risk factors is urgent to alleviate cardiovascular complications of type 2 diabetic patients of Bangladesh.