Abstract
This study was intended to determine the cut off level of urinary transferrin and its different-day variation, and to compare the sensitivity of microtransferrinuria with microalbuminuria in NIDDM.
Mean transferrin index (TfI) in 431 healthy subjects is 0.55+0.20 mg/gCr (mean+SD) and the cut off level of TfI is determined as 0.95 mg/gCr (mean+2SD).Coefficient of variation in TfI and albumin index (AI) determined in 5 consecutive days in 10 normal subjects (43.7±21.3 vs 52.1+20.8%) and in 10 patients with NIDDM (50.6±53.1vs71.4+42.7%) were comparable.
One hundred seventy-five patients with NIDDM were devided into 4 groups according to Al (A: 0-9.9, B: 10.0-19.9, C: 20.0-49.9, D: 50.0-199.9mg/gCr). The urinary albumin and transferrin were measured by nephelometry, and Al and TfI were determined by deviding albumin and transferrin by creatinine content. Between 4 groups of AI, TfI increased significantly and in all groups AI and TfI were significantly correlated each other. Six of 91 subjects in group A and 12 of 30 subjects in group B had exceeded TfI despite normal Al.
These results indicate that microtransferrinuria may be as sensitive as microalbuminuria as a marker of diabetic nephropathy in NIDDM.
