Adult height and proteinuria in type 2 diabetes.
BACKGROUND
Short stature has been shown to be associated with proteinuria in type 1 diabetes, but no data exist with respect to type 2 diabetes. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between final adult height and macroproteinuria in type 2 diabetic patients.


METHODS
One hundred and forty-four consecutive type 2 diabetic patients (84 males, 60 females) with macroproteinuria were recruited into the study. For every patient, three diabetic controls matched for age, gender, and duration of diabetes were randomly selected. Height was measured in patients and controls to the nearest 0.5 cm.


RESULTS
The mean height in men with macroproteinuria (n = 84) was 164.4 cm (SD 6.74) compared to 166.6 cm (SD 6.64) in controls (n = 252) (P < 0.01). The mean height in women with macroproteinuria (n = 60) was 150.6 cm (SD 5.20) compared to 152.5 cm (SD 5.78) in controls (n = 180) (P < 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
Short stature is associated with an increased risk of macroproteinuria in type 2 diabetic patients. We postulate that common genetic or environmental factors that affect final adult height might also predispose to the development of nephropathy.
Diabetes Clinic, St Luke's Hospital, Malta. University of Exeter, Exeter, UK. University of Malta, King's College Hospital, London, UK.
S
S
Fava
J
J
Azzopardi
P J
PJ
Watkins
A T
AT
Hattersley
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001827:Body Height; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000209:etiology*; D012016:Reference Values