Prevalence and Biomarkers of Diabetic Kidney Disease in Diabetic Patients on Treatment in Buea and Ngaoundere, Cameroon

Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) is a complication of diabetes that often leads to the End Stage Renal Disease. It is characterised by the presence of persistent albuminuria and a reduction of the Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) in diabetic condition. No study has revealed the prevalence of DKD in Cameroon. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Buea and Ngaoundere to determine the prevalence of DKD and characterize its biochemical profile in diabetic population under medical care. A total of 250 diabetics were enrolled with a mean age of 56.78±12.06 years, out of which 59.6% were diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), 32.8% presented micro-albuminuria and 3.6% were diagnosed with macroalbuminuria. The prevalence of DKD was 15.2% out of which 78.9% were females (p=0.002). The prevalence of the co-morbidity hypertension and DKD was 8.8%. Significant association was found between DKD and two variables: female gender (OR: 2.28 (1.21-4.29); p=0.002) and hyper-creatinemia (OR: 3.47 (2.13-5.66); p < 0.001). The high prevalence of micro-albuminuria found in this study may reflect a high frequency of micro-albuminuria in diabetic population in Cameroon. This study is the first, to assess DKD in Cameroon according to the ADA consensus on CKD and diabetes. The findings showed that, diabetic complication is a serious problem in Cameroon and, more actions should be taken to improve its management.