Glycemia affects glomerular filtration rate in people with type 2 diabetes

In type 2 diabetes (T2DM), the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) systematically underestimates the measured adjusted glomerular filtration rate (aGFR) when aGFR is high. We studied the extent to which glycemic variables associate with kidney function, and developed equations including these variables that estimate aGFR in people with T2DM.

Diabetic Pima people had aGFR measured from iothalamate clearance divided by body surface area. eGFRs < 60 ml/min/1.73m² were excluded. Multivariate linear regression identified variables correlated with kidney function. We constructed equations for approximating aGFR. Correlation analysis and 10-fold cross-validation were used to compare the CKD-EPI equation and the new approximating equations to the measured aGFR. Ability to detect hyperfiltration, defined as aGFR > 120 ml/min/1.73m², was compared by analysis of receiver-operating (ROC) curves.

aGFR was measured 2798 times in 269 individuals. HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), age, and serum creatinine (SCR) were significantly associated with aGFR. The best equations for approximating aGFR used HbA1c and FPG in addition to age and SCR. They approximate aGFR in this cohort of obese people with T2DM more precisely than the CKD-EPI equation. Analysis of ROC curves show that these equations detect hyperfiltration better than does the CKD-EPI equation.

HbA_1c, FPG, age, and SCR yielded the best equations for estimating aGFR in these subjects. The new equations identify hyperfiltration better than the CKD-EPI equation in this cohort and may inform clinical decisions regarding hyperfiltration in individuals with T2DM.