'Microalbuminuria' in type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients with and without retinopathy.
We investigated the frequency of microalbuminuria (albumin excretion rate, AER greater than 15 micrograms/min) ('overnight' urine collection and radioimmunological evaluation) and its relation to retinopathy (assessed by fluorangiography) in 113 type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic subjects (aged 31 +/- 13 years; diabetes duration 11 +/- 7 years), all Albustix-negative. Sixty eight patients (60.2%) were free of retinal lesions, 31 (27.4%) had background retinopathy and 14 (12.4%) had proliferative retinopathy. Microalbuminuria was found in 25 patients (22%). Fifteen patients (13%) showed both retinopathy and microalbuminuria. Fifteen % (10/68) of the patients with no retinopathy and sixteen % (5/31) of those with background retinal lesions had microalbuminuria, while 29% (4/14) of the patients with proliferative retinopathy were normoalbuminuric. Among the 29 patients with diabetes for less than five years, 1 had retinopathy and 4 had microalbuminuria. Out of 15 patients with both retinopathy and microalbuminuria, 13 (87%) had had diabetes for more than 10 years. Diabetic retinopathy is more frequent than microalbuminuria (40 vs 22%). Although the linkage between retinopathy and microalbuminuria is weak, after ten years of diabetes the two complications may frequently coincide.
Miccoli
R
R
Cattedra di Malattie del Ricambio, Università di Pisa, Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica del CNR.
Giampietro
O
O
Penno
G
G
Odello
G
G
Anichini
R
R
Bertolotto
A
A
Cruschelli
L
L
Bertoli
S
S
Navalesi
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000209:etiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure; D003404:Creatinine / Q000032:analysis; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000209:etiology*; D006441:Hemoglobin A / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012044:Regression Analysis
D006441:Hemoglobin A; D003404:Creatinine