MICROALBUMINURIA IN TYPE-2 DIABETIC-PATIENTS - A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF FREQUENCY, SEX DISTRIBUTION AND RELATION TO HYPERTENSION

We studied 112 type 2 diabetic patients. Fourteen patients had frank proteinuria, and 37 of the remaining 98 had microalbuminuria which was more frequent in men than in women (P < 0.02). Hypertension was found in 47 of the patients, equally distributed between sexes. Male diabetics with microalbuminuria had higher systolic blood pressure than diabetics without microalbuminuria (P < 0.02). Body mass index was higher in both sexes with hypertension compared to patients without hypertension. In the hypertensive men plasma C-peptide values were higher compared to patients without hypertension (P < 0.01) irrespective of the presence of microalbuminuria. A positive correlation between blood pressure and C-peptide was found (P < 0.01)in the men. We suggest that gender should be taken into account in the analysis and interpretation of microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetes.