Comparison of Cardiovascular Risk in Microalbuminuric and Normoalbuminuric Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: To compare cardiovascular risk in microalbuminuric and normoalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methodology: Blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), electrolytes, fasting plasma glucose, lipid profile and renal profile were determined in 120 type 2 diabetic patients attending the Medical Outpatient Clinic from January 2017 to August 2017, and in 120 age-matched control subjects. Semi-quantitative determination of microalbuminuria was done using the “MICRAL test” strip. Microalbuminuria was defined as urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) of 30 – 300 mg/g (3.4-33.9 mg/mmol). Results: Twenty-seven (22.5%) diabetic patients had microalbuminuria but 93 (77.5%) patients did not have microalbuminuria. Microalbuminuric diabetic patients had significantly longer duration of diabetes, higher mean BMI, higher blood pressure, higher creatinine, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), higher urea, higher potassium, higher total cholesterol, higher LDL and lower HDL, as well as higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension, dyslipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, high LDL and low HDL, compared to diabetics without microalbuminuria. Conclusion: Microalbuminuric patients had more adverse levels and higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors compared to normoalbuminuric patients. Microalbuminuria is known to be an adverse prognostic indicator for clinical cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality in diabetic patients.