Prevalence of Microalbuminuria Among Type 2 Diabetic and Hypertensive Patients Attending the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria.

Abstract

Diabetes and hypertension have been associated with various complications including nephropathy usually heralded by microalbuminuria. This study determined the prevalence of microalbuminuria among diabetics and hypertensives in Calabar and examined the relationship between indices of glycaemia, hypertension and microalbuminuria. One hundred and five participants were consecutively recruited comprising of 35 diabetics, 35 hypertensives and 35 controls. Fasting plasma glucose, urine creatinine, microalbumin were determined using colorimetric methods, glycated haemoglobin by ion exchange resin and microalbumi creatinine-ratio (MACR) calculated. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance at p< 0.05. Using the MACR, it was observed that 17.1% of diabetics and 34.7% hypertensives had microalbuminuria. The mean values of systolic and diastolic blood pressures as well as microalbumin-creatinine ratio of diabetics and hypertensives were found to be significantly higher than that of controls (p= 0.0001). Glycaemic indices of diabetics were found to be significantly higher (p=0.0001) than that of both controls and hypertensives. Urine microalbumin and creatinine was found to be significantly higher (p=0.0001) in hypertensives compared to diabetics and controls. This study shows a high prevalence of microalbuminuria among our diabetic and hypertensive patients and indicates the need for regular microalbuminuria screenings to avoid the development of diabetic and hypertensive nephropathy and its progression to end stage renal disease.