RATES OF PROGRESSION TO END-STAGE RENAL-FAILURE IN NEPHROPATHY SECONDARY TO TYPE-1 AND TYPE-2 DIABETES-MELLITUS

Background: Diabetic nephropathy is now the commonest single cause of end-stage renal failure (ESRF) in New Zealand. Aims: To investigate differences in the natural history of established nephropathy in Type 1 and 2 diabetes. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the rate of progression to ESRF in 17 subjects with Type 1 diabetes (predominantly European) compared to 29 subjects with Type 2 diabetes (all Polynesian). The rate of decline of renal function was determined from serial creatinine measurements (median 5, range 3-8) during progression of chronic renal failure to end stage. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated from creatinine measurements using the Cockcroft Gault equation, and the regression slope of these measurements against time was used to determine rate of change of renal function. Results: GFR fell significantly more rapidly in the group with Type 2 diabetes than in those with Type 1 diabetes: median 1.7 (interquartile range 1.2 to 2.3) mt min(-1) month(-1) vs 1.1 (interquartile range 0.4 to 1.5) mt min(-1) month(-1), p = 0.017. During the study period the mean reduction in diastolic blood pressure in subjects with Type 1 diabetes (15 mmHg) was greater than that in the Type 2 subjects (8 mmHg), but the stage at which antihypertensives were commenced was similar in the two groups. Glycaemic control was worse in the subjects with Type 1 diabetes (p < 0.005). The differences in blood pressure control were not significant on analysis of covariance which indicated that ethnicity was the major determinant of the different rates of decline of GFR between the groups. We conclude that in subjects with diabetic nephropathy the rate of progression to ESRF is more rapid in Polynesians with Type 2 diabetes than in Europeans with Type 1 diabetes. This could contribute to the apparent: excess of Type 2 diabetic subjects of Polynesian origin on renal replacement programmes in New Zealand.