Abstract :
Aim: The objective of the paper is to estimate the prevalence of albuminuria (both microalbuminuria and
macroalbuminuria) among type 2 diabetic patients and to determine its role as a risk factor for the presence
and severity of diabetic retinopathy.
Materials and Methods: We conducted a hospital based cross sectional study in 360 patients who had
type 2 diabetes mellitus. Study was conducted on all type II diabetic patients who came to the department
of ophthalmology, DR SMCSI medical college, Karakonam. Study period was 2 years. All the patients
had undergone through a thorough ocular examination. The ETDRS scale was used for grading Diabetic
retinopathy. A morning urine sample was used for detecting albuminuria. The values of urine albumin
excretion of 30 – 300 mg in 24 hours was regarded as microalbuminuria and values more than 300 mg in
24hours was considered as macroalbuminuria. The analysis was done using SPSS 16.0.
Results: In our present study the prevalence of microalbuminuria was found to be 33.9% and the prevalence
of macroalbuminuria was found to be 16.7%. Those with macroalbuminuria when compared to those with
microalbuminuria or normoalbuminuria is shown to have a greater prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and
also was found to have greater severity of the disease (33.3%) which was found to be statistically significant,
p value= 0.001.
Conclusion: Microalbuminuria is a very useful biomarker in predicting the presence and severity of
diabetic retinopathy among type II diabetic patients. Patients with microalbuminuria have a higher risk
for the development and the progression of diabetic retinopathy.
Keyword :
Diabetic retinopathy, Diabetes mellitus, Microalbuminuria.