Assessment of Microalbuminuria and Hs-CRP for Early Detection of Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most prevalent complications of type 2 diabetes and is associated with an increased risk of end-stage renal disease in patients whose disease is not diagnosed in time. Formerly, microalbuminuria was used as the first marker, but recently, high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) may be useful for early diagnosis. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to compare microalbuminuria and hs-CRP in type 2 diabetic patients and test their efficiency in diagnosing early diabetic nephropathy. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study with 75 patients with type 2 DM. Demographic variables, microalbuminuria, and hs-CRP were measured and recorded. Microalbuminuria and positive or negative CRP were used to stratify patients into groups of MG, LG, and control. The t-test was used to test for differences in hs-CRP levels between the groups. Results: As for renal markers, microalbuminuria was elevated at 60% among these patients. The hs-CRP levels were higher in patients with microalbuminuria compared to patients without it (3. 1 ± 1. 2 mg/L versus 1. 5 ± 0. 8 mg/L, respectively; p = 0.001). Patients with microalbuminuria were older, their diabetes duration was longer, HDL was lower, and triglyceride levels were higher in comparison to patients without microalbuminuria. These observations were consistent with the CRP-positive group compared with the CRP-negative group. Conclusions: The research suggested a relationship between increased hs-CRP concentrations and microalbuminuria among patients with type 2 diabetes. This indicates that hs-CRP could be a potential biomarker for detecting diabetic renal disease early enough. Therefore, screening for hs-CRP in combination with screening for microalbuminuria could increase the early detection of kidney complications in type 2 diabetes. More large-cohort longitudinal follow-up studies are warranted to determine the diagnostic value of hs-CRP for predicting the development of diabetic nephropathy and to define optimal cut-off levels.