Nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus in Third World countries--Chandigarh study

We studied the profile of nephropathy in 250 patients, 177 males and 73 females, with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mean age was 55.9 +/- 8.8 years. Therapy for control of diabetes included diet alone in 1.6%, oral hypoglycaemic agents in 90.6% and insulin in 7.8%. Glycaemic control was satisfactory in 4.8%, fair in 41.2% and poor in 54.0%. Blood sugar values were normal without any therapy in 33 out of the 206 patients (16%) after the onset of renal insufficiency. The mean interval between the onset of diabetes and the appearance of proteinuria was 9.5 +/- 7.05 years. Proteinuria appeared within one year in 23 patients (9.2%), 1-5 years in 32 (12.8%), 6-10 years in 86 (34.4%) and more than 10 years in the remaining 109 patients (43.6%). Proteinuria was of nephrotic range in 17.6% of patients. Renal insufficiency was present in 206 (82.4%) patients and occurred 10.5 +/- 7.5 years after the detection of diabetes. Hypertension was present in 61.2% and was first detected 7.5 +/- 7.4 years after onset of diabetes. Endstage renal disease occurred 11.8 +/- 6.8 years after the onset of diabetes mellitus. Thus, clinical evidence of diabetic nephropathy is present in most patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus within a decade after the detection of diabetes. Subsequent progression to end-stage renal failure is rapid in the face of poorly controlled hypertension and hyperglycemia in the economically poor countries.