Risk Factors Associated with Albuminuria in Kuwaiti Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

There are no available data about the factors associated with diabetic nephropathy (DN) in Kuwaiti individuals with type 2 diabetes. This study was conducted on 154 consecutive Kuwaiti adults with type 2 diabetes who attended the diabetic out-patient clinic at Al-Sabah Hospital to determine the factors associated with albuminuria among them. Albuminuria was considered to be present if the urinary albumin:creatinine ratio test or 24-h collection was positive on two occasions. There were 102 (66.2%) women and 52 (33.8%) men, with a mean age of 49.1 +/- 10.1 years and a median duration of diabetes for 6 years. Hypertension was found in 60.8% of the patients and 16.3% had an HbA(1c) < 7%. Albuminuria was found in 43.5% of the patients. The prevalence of microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria was 27.3% and 16.2%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, the factors that were significantly associated with albuminuria were hypertension - both systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, HbA(1c) , retinopathy, duration of diabetes, and modality of treatment. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that hyper-tension was the main independent risk factor associated with albuminuria (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.1-15.0; P = 0.03). In conclusion, although albuminuria is common among Kuwaiti adults with type 2 diabetes, the prevalence is lower than that reported for other populations in spite of the poor glycemic control and the high prevalence of hypertension. Factors associated with albuminuria appear to be similar to other populations, and hypertension was the most independent factor. Early recognition and treatment of hypertension is an important strategy to prevent or delay DN as well as cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A population-based study is warranted to confirm these findings and to search for genetic linkage for the development of DN.