Microvascular complications and risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes

To conduct a prospective study in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with no microvascular complications, analyzing the association between various baseline risk factors and development of microvascular complications at follow-up.

A prospective, observational study in 376 patients with T2DM enrolled in 2004. The clinical end-point was urinary albumin excretion (UAE) > 30mg/24h and/or presence of retinopathy at follow-up in 2007. Baseline variables included age, gender, duration of T2DM, fasting plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fibrinogen, UAE, creatinine, smoking status, exercise, alcohol consumption, use of hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering drugs, antihypertensive medications, and other data related to family history of diabetes and risk factors.

Ninety-five subjects (25.2%) developed a microvascular complication at the end of the follow-up period. In logistic regression analyses, the main independent risk factors were UAE >12mg/24h (odds ratio [OR]: 6.12; P=.000), hs-CRP> 3mg/L (OR: 3.00; P=.004), and hypertension (OR: 2.43; P=.023).

UAE levels higher than 12mg/24h, hs-CRP >3mg/L, and presence of hypertension were all independent risk factors for development of microvascular complications in patients with T2DM studied.