Prevalence of microalbuminuria and associated factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria and identify associated demographic and clinical factors in type 2 diabetic patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional Analytical study. Setting: Department of Medicine, Combined Military Hospital Multan. Period: Nov-2024 to Apr-2025. Methods: A total of 126 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus for ≥2 years were enrolled in this study. Baseline demographics, clinical history, and results of laboratory parameters were recorded. Patients were defined as having microalbuminuria when urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio was 30-300 mg/g. Demographic and clinical risk factors were compared between patients diagnosed with microalbuminuria and those without it to determine the factors associated with the development of microalbuminuria by applying chi-square tests and independent t-tests keeping p<0.05 as statistically significant. Results: The mean age was 51.34±7.53 years with nearly equal gender distribution. The prevalence of microalbuminuria was found to be 21.4%. Patients diagnosed with microalbuminuria had significantly higher age (54.67±7.22 vs 50.47±7.42 years, p=0.01), male predominance (70.37% vs 45.45%, p=0.02), longer diabetes duration (12.7±4.14 vs 9.41±4.61 years, p<0.01), uncontrolled diabetes (81.48% vs 60.61%, p=0.04), uncontrolled hypertension (51.85% vs 18.18%, p<0.01). These patients also had higher prevalence of hypertension (p=0.02) and obesity (p=0.04), higher BMI (p=0.04) and smoking rates (p=0.01). Conclusion: A notable proportion of type 2 diabetic patients also develop microalbuminuria. Older age, male gender, longer duration of diabetes, poor glycemic control, hypertension, obesity, and smoking are significantly associated factors in the development of microalbuminuria in these patients.