Abstract
Urinary albumin excretion was determined in 54 IDDM children without macroproteinuria (Albustix) and in 18 age-and sex-matched nondiabetic subjects. The diabetic group averaged 12.5 years of age and had had diabetes for an average 4.8 years. Urinary albumin was measured by the immunoturbidity method using a postprandial urine sample and expressed by the amount per gram of creatinine (urinary albumin index: UAI, mg/g·Cr). A cross-section of 54 patients was studied, and 22 of them were studied again 3 years later. The results were as follows:
1) Microalbuminuria, i.e., albumin at a level of more than 24 mg/g·Cr (mean+2 SD value of normal), was detected in 20% of diabetics.
2) UAI did not correlate with recent glycemic control at different periods.
3) Although only 1 out of 22 patients showed persistent microalbuminuria and the UAI value fluctuated in some cases, the group with initially high UAI (≥17 mg/g·Cr, mean+1 SD value of normal) tended to show high UAI 3 years later.
4) The higher the index of HbA1c (%)×duration of diabetes (months), the more frequent the patients who showed high UAI at initial or follow-up examination.
These date suggest that some disorders develop in the kideny after a short duration of IDDM and that long-term rather than short-term hyperglycemia may contribute to the development of transient microalbuminuria.
