Nephropathy in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

End-stage renal disease develops in about 5 percent of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). The large majority of diabetic patients have this form of the disease. Thus, end-stage renal disease is an important clinical problem in patients with NIDDM. Moreover, hypertension and its macrovascular sequelae are significant problems in patients with NIDDM and may be linked with renal disease. A review of the problem of nephropathy in NIDDM is attempted, pointing out, where data are available, the clinical and pathophysiologic differences from its presentation in insulin-dependent diabetes. The need for further studies of the impact of renal disease in this maturity onset form of diabetes is emphasized.