Urinary albumin excretion (UAE) is one of the strongest predictors of both adverse renal and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. Although measurement of UAE is widely recommended, there is little available data to suggest that reducing UAE translates into a reduction in cardiovascular mortality. We assessed whether an early reduction in UAE is associated with improved long-term cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive type 2 diabetic patients with normo, micro, or overt albuminuria at baseline. The study is a 10-year longitudinal analysis of a prospective, randomized study- the Appropriate Blood Pressure Control in Diabetes (ABCD) trial including 393 type 2 diabetic patients with hypertension. We evaluated the association between the change in UAE from baseline to 1-year with the incidence of all cause and cardiovascular mortality over a ten year period. Our results revealed that a reduction in log UAE achieved at one-year was one of the strongest predictors of reduced cardiovascular mortality in a multivariable model that adjusted for multiple cardiovascular risk factors (HR1.42, 95% CI 1.06 – 1.92). This association was at all levels of UAE, normo, micro and overt albuminuria. In conclusion, an early reduction in UAE even at the normoalbuminuria level is associated with improvements in long-term cardiovascular mortality. Our data support current guideline recommendations to screen for UAE in all type 2 diabetic patients, but also suggest that serial UAE measurements after initiation of therapy may have clinical value. Prospective studies addressing this approach to care are needed prior to widespread adoption in practice.
Urinary Albumin Excretion Rate and Glomerular Filtration Rate in Single-Kidney Type 2 Diabetic Patients
