Association of HbA1C with Microalbuminuria in Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction: Microalbuminuria is often the first sign of renal dysfunction (nephropathy) in diabetes mellitus. The current study was aimed at determining the microalbuminuria levels in type 2 diabetes and to correlate changes in microalbuminuria levels with the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in type 2 diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at the Islamabad Diagnostic Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan. Patients with type 2 diabetes aged between 30-60 years were included in the study. Patients with systemic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and urinary tract infection was excluded from the study. Fasting blood samples were used to analyze HbA1c levels for the estimation of diabetic control and subsequently random urine specimens to investigate microalbumin level of all the individuals under study. The statistical software SPSS 19.0 was used for the analysis of the data. Results: The study showed that microalbuminuria levels were linearly correlated to those of HbA1c levels. Conclusion: Impaired glycemic control is associated with significant elevations in urinary microalbumin levels which suggest that the monitoring of microalbuminuria levels at the early stages of diabetes can avert and reduce the clinical and economic burden of auxiliary complications (nephropathy etc.) in the developing countries like Pakistan.