Prevalence and factors associated with microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetic patients at a diabetes clinic in northern Tanzania

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with microalbuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes attending the diabetes clinic at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in northern Tanzania. We enrolled 149 patients aged over 19 years. Three morning urine samples separated by a gap of 1 month each were analysed within a 6-month period. Urinary albumin concentration was measured by an immunoturbidimetric assay and two positive tests (urinary albumin excretion 30-300 mg/L) were considered as positive for microalbuminuria. The overall prevalence of microalbuminuria was 29%. Presence of microalbuminuria was significantly related to age, systolic blood pressure, use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, haemoglobin A1c level, serum creatinine, and creatinine clearance (p<0.05). However after a multivariate logistic regression only haemoglobin A1c, creatinine, and creatinine clearance were strongly associated with microalbuminuria. In conclusion, the study revealed a higher prevalence of microalbuminuria among people with type 2 diabetes, compared with another Tanzanian study in Dar es Salaam. Determination of the urinary albumin excretion is an easy method for screening of microalbuminuria, and is recommended for all diabetic patients even in low-resource settings, to provide optimum management to delay the progression to end-stage renal disease.